A rare, in-the-wild sighting of a Tesla Cybertruck set the interwebs alight over the weekend and was confirmed by the man himself, when Elon Musk Tweeted that he had personally taken the prototype electric ute for a spin to the very facility that would be producing it in the not-too distant future: Giga Texas.
Photos and video emerged on Twitter late Friday morning (US time) via Tesla Owners Online of a Cybertruck prototype being driven around the site of the gigafactory that is being built by Tesla near Austin, that will be the production site for Elon Musk’s futuristic electric pick-up.
🚨 BREAKING: Tesla #Cybertruck spotted at Giga Texas!
.@elonmusk https://t.co/A7cqUjn5fC pic.twitter.com/Xir6K4NwKj— Tesla Owners Online (@Model3Owners) April 16, 2021
The Cybertruck, which was driven by Musk, appears to have then been showed off to workers at the construction site, with one picture showing Musk rallying the troops, with the almost mythical steel machine parked in the foreground.
.@elonmusk speaking at Gigafactory Texas #Cybertruck pic.twitter.com/01IcwpIkcC
— Tesla Owners Online (@Model3Owners) April 16, 2021
The Tesla Owners Online Tweet was quickly verified by Musk, who replied that he had just been there (see below). It was then officially made official by a Tesla Tweet with photographs, one of which is pictured at the top of the story.
It’s the first public sighting of the Cybertruck since Tesla’s Battery Day more than six months ago, during which time eyes have been peeled for a new prototype that is closer to the refined design that has been promised for the production version.
An updated design of the ute was most recently flagged for a big reveal sometime this quarter, but so far nothing has materialised. According to those in the know, the Cybertruck Musk was driving on Friday was most likely the same prototype he’s been getting about in since its launch.
This did not seem to disappoint, too much, though, with fans still tickled to see the Cybertruck doing its thing in the real world, with the man behind the vision behind the wheel.
“Looks absolutely badass dirty in a real environment!! First time ever with dirty tires!!!” said one admirer on Twitter.
Tesla has said it is aiming to begin mass production of the Cybertruck in late 2021, but has also warned of some significant challenges in bringing the vehicle to production that could push the timing out further.
