Categories: EV News

Why the Tesla ute may take “cyberpunk” to new level

Published by
Bridie Schmidt

The unveiling of Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk’s pet project, the all-electric pickup truck (or ute as it is known in Australia), is due to be launched later this year. But the wait is apparently just too much for some.

Automotive digital artist Emre Husmen, from Turkey, has posted a series of super-futuristic renders of the electric ute that references the cult sci-fi move Blade Runner, which is well known for its dark, edgy design language that encapsulates the cyberpunk genre.

The smooth, arching lines of the design render from Husmen take the concept of a pickup truck to “next level” – a term Musk used himself when discussing the progress of the electric pickup last year during Tesla’s Q3 earnings call.

Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance
Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance
Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance

There’s some nice details in Husmen’s renders, from the aerodynamic side profile to the badge inset just behind the front wheel.

A cut, streamlined body is what this design render is all about, with a prominent, bold stance and futuristic strip headlights and rear lights that emanate memories of another well-known sci-fi film, Tron.

Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance
Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance
Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance
Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance
Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance
Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance
Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance
Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance
Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance
Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance
Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance
Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance
Credit: Emre Husmen. Source: Behance

Not a lot has been given away by Tesla in the form of design clues; so far, only a single teaser image has been released.

Out of the various renders created by designers so far, though, Husmen’s takes Musk’s Blade Runner references most seriously.

It doesn’t reference however, the angled, LED-lit lines of the hood (or is it the trunk?) that we glimpsed at the end of Musk’s Model Y unveil in March, and that was later posted by Musk:

So far, the artist that has followed this design clue the most closely out of all we’ve seen is Stephen William Mason, whose electric Tesla pickup design features both a front and back trunk, with less curves and more angles.

Another notable render was created late 2018 by McHoffa from the EV.Network, who showed in his render a red electric pickup that is truest to current Tesla vehicle design, pulling a gooseneck trailer (weekend roadtrip, anyone?).

However we suspect that the Tesla electric ute, when finally unveiled, will diverge at least a bit from current Tesla model design: after all, Musk already said regarding the final design for his electric pickup when talking to Recode Decode’s Karen Swisher last year that it will be heart-stopping – and that he wasn’t concerned if no-one wanted to buy it.

“I’m personally super-excited by this pickup truck,” Musk said at the time. “This will be heart-stopping. It stops my heart. It’s like, oh, it’s great.”

Recent Posts

Tesla first quarter EV sales slump 50 pct in Australia, despite rebound in Model Y

Tesla sales are down 50 per cent in the March quarter in Australia, although the…

April 3, 2025

The Driven Podcast: Kia takes on the Chinese EV giants

As Kia launches its new EV3, head of product Roland Rivero discussed the companies grand…

April 3, 2025

Kia EV3 review: Tesla teaser hits the mark with range, re-gen, space and price

Kia EV3 is the company's smallest, lowest priced, and longest range EV, and arguably the…

April 3, 2025

Kia counts on success of new EV3 and EV5 to spare it from vehicle emission fines

South Korea carmaker Kia says it is confident that its two new electric model releases…

April 3, 2025

Australian electric vehicle sales by month and by model in 2025

A full breakdown of all electric vehicle sales by month and by model in Australia…

April 3, 2025

Backlash against Musk causes Tesla’s biggest ever global quarterly sales slump

Tesla says global EV sales plunged to just over 336,000 in the March quarter, down…

April 3, 2025