Well-known YouTuber and builder of robots Simone Giertz has turned her brand new Tesla Model 3 into the world’s first Telsa pickup truck, proving that electric vehicles can really have farm cred. She has dubbed it “the truck the world didn’t know it was waiting for.”
The one-off project comes amidst ongoing speculation that Telsa will announce its own pickup truck model sometime within the next year.
However Giertz didn’t have the patience to wait, saying that her desire for a Tesla pickup – or ute, in Australia – was so great that she decided to make one herself.
“I don’t know if this is going to be the smartest or the most stupid thing I’m ever going to do, but the bottom line is, I really want an electric pickup truck. And more specifically, I really want a Tesla pickup” Giertz says while introducing her project.
Check out the mock commercial Giertz made for her Truckla:
“It was a colossal effort but this incredible-but-scrappy team worked for hours and hours and hours and created the world’s first official unofficial Tesla pickup!” Giertz said.
Giertz, who expressed her excitement to have secured her own Tesla Model 3 in a post on Facebook back in April, hinted at the time that she had plans in store for making some enhancements to the vehicle’s design.
“I kept looking over my shoulder for some adult to tell me that I wasn’t allowed to buy this. But then I realized: I’m the adult in the room. And it’s money that I’ve earned myself, building shitty robots. This is my absolute dream car. Almost.”
Giertz released a video showing the breakdown of the Model 3’s customisation (warning, the video does include Giertz keying the word “Truckla” into the back of the car, that could be difficult viewing for Tesla fans)
Giertz sought to retain as much as possible of the Tesla look, and worked to embed a truck bed into the existing chassis of the Model 3. The Truckla is completely functional and driveable, but Giertz has said that she will continue working on polishing the creation, putting a call out to those in the automotive industry who are keen to work on the project, which requires waterproofing.
“This is truly my dream car. It has a custom lumber rack, a 3′ 11” wide bed, a 110V power outlet and I can’t believe I get to drive this.” Giertz said.
“We are going to keep working on Truckla, it’s completely driveable, but this is the long-haul part of the project.”
Simone Giertz has built a cult following on YouTube for building ‘shitty robots’, highly innovative, but slightly impractical contraptions which have included everything from using a drone to give haircuts, to a machine that helps you to (very messily) eat breakfast.
The Truckla project is the perfect answer to electric vehicle critics, including federal energy minister Angus Taylor, who ran a scare campaign during the election against calls for greater incentives for electric vehicle update by claiming that such policies would amount to a “ban on utes“.
While the Truckla is not available for sale (unless, of course, you build your own), you can buy Truckla merchandise through Giertz’s website.
