I love a good bootleg, and the cheaper and crappier and more half-assed the better. Given the choice between an officially-licensed Superman action figure or a Superb-Man Active Figure with real Warm-Vision, I’m going to be drawn to the crappy knockoff.
And that could be why this amazing, misshapen silvery mass drew me in like a moth to a flame, or maybe a crudely drawn flame on a chunk of drywall. Meet the Aitekx Robotruck, the first Tesla Cybertruck knockoff to be introduced to humanity, and, based on the looks of the thing, it’s an absolute pile.
Now I should be clear that I have not yet spoken to the Aitekx representative and gotten all the details about this vehicle; I’ll be doing that tomorrow, at the show, and I will tell you everything I find out; until then, we have these pictures to look at and Aitekx’ website, which features a lot of improbable photos and some really painfully obvious spelling errors:
I make plenty of spelling errors myself, but I think when I have only two words to deal with, I can usually figure it out. This is also fun, and even more baffling:
3-raw seats? 2-raw seats? Are these uncooked seats? Seat tartare? A typo is one thing, but this is repeated. How?
The truck itself, called the Robotruck 1T in truck version and the Robotruck 1V in SUV form (I can’t actually tell the difference in the two based on the website) and seems pretty clearly modeled after the Tesla Cybertruck, but with enough styling differences to, I suppose, keep everything nice and legal.
In person, the Robotruck appears to have been built with a level of focus and care and attention that can only be described as “chimp-grade.” It’s appalling, in an absolutely gleeful way. I mean, just look at this thing:
Wow. I know we’ve all enjoyed a good, wholesome chuckle at the suspect build quality of the pre-production Cybertruck but this is an entirely different level of shittiness. If the Cybertruck’s build quality is somewhat shoddy, with uneven panel gaps, then the Robotruck is deity-level shoddy, with panel gaps that aren’t just large, but also incredibly uneven and wavy, and appears to have been put together with the sort of precision normally associated with a gravel driveway.
Look at how that door doesn’t exactly close! Absolutely no panel here actually fits; look at those strange metal slats that make up the sloping rear of the thing – they look like metal 2x4s haphazardly nailed to the sides.
What’s going on here? Are those rivet heads? Are there fingerprints in that paint?
Dear God, look at that. It’s like a guy with mittens was injected with several shots of Novacaine in the wrists, and handed a rubber mallet and told to “build the car.”
From what I could see, it looks like an absolute pile. Now, again, I haven’t spoken with Aitekx representatives about anything yet, and it’s possible there’s really good reasons for why the Robotruck looks like it was made by smacking parts together with a salami. It’s possible this all somehow makes sense, even if I can’t really see it.
Aitekx (that name seems to come from combining AI and tech and and X, because why the hell not, I suppose, letters are free) claims that the Robotruck will get “up to” 550 miles of range, and it’s worth noting that when you say something that can get “up to” 550 miles, that means that getting one mile is as valid as 200 miles, and the only thing that wouldn’t be possible with that claim is anything 551 miles or more. They also say it will go from 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds, with a top speed of 165 mph.
Do you want to order one of these Wish.com Cybertrucks? The Cybertrucks of we have Cybertruck at home? If so, you can plop down $100 for a reservation, and guarantee that you’ll be in line to get ahold of one of these Robotrucks, which will likely be ready for delivery on the 14th of Never, in the year two thousand and are-you-fucking-kidding-me. Or it’ll be next year! Who knows, the Tesla Cybertruck has been promised since 2019, after all.
Do you feel good about sending money to a company whose address appears to be a PO Box, at least according to their trademark registration? Do you feel good about sending money to a company whose X account looks like this?
Unusual activity. I wonder if that includes the unusual activity of building a Cybertruck knockoff out of crap and dreams?
The Robotruck does seem to offer some advantages over the Cybertruck, including a third row of seats and what looks like a folding mid-gate:
I mean, in those renders, that looks pretty good! Unfortunately, reality is a big old jerk.
There does seem to be some sort of electric drivetrain under there, so that much seems true. Everything else I’m really skeptical about, but I’ll try and find out what I can. I’ll also ask them what it means when they say the Robotruck is a “fun midsize EV pickup with robotics and AI capability,” because I have no idea at all what the hell that means. Is it some euphemism for a semi-automated system?
This thing is absurd, but I adore the chutzpah it takes to blatantly knock off one of the most talked-about designs in recent memory, all while building it with a level of attention that suggests everyone involved was half-watching some YouTube videos or in the throes of a full-on ether high.
This thing is fascinating. The difference between the dreams of the builders, as expressed through these many renders, and the brutal reality of the half-ass-seeming physical truck itself, parked there smack dab in the middle of the LA Auto Show, is sobering.
I’ll check it out up close and get all the details tomorrow, but based on what I’ve seen and read so far, this goofy bootleg Cybertruck isn’t giving me a lot of confidence.
I’m thrilled it’s here, though. Best car of show, hands down.
It is actually just an F-150 Lightning bolt on body kit. Now you can have a good electric truck and still look like a d-bag!
The renders look way better than the Cybertruck. The panel alignment is authentic Tesla, so I’m not sure what all the complaining is about.
Calling it garbage is giving garbage a bad name. And to put this in perspective, I think the Tesla Cybertruck is bullshit to begin with, but compared to this shittier bullshit it’s the hands-down winner. Of the bullshit low-res cyberpunk bullshit trucks to choose from, it’s the less-bullshit option.
Ngl those renders look better than the cybertruck except from the front
I dunno, I saw a Cybertruck on the road at night last week. I think I might prefer this thing.
An Elon Musk fever dream
The hood ornament looks like a splatted pedestrian. If you hit a second unlucky jaywalker, they’ll send you a second hood ornament to put next to the first one.
I know a genuine Panaphonics when I see it. And look, there’s Robot Truck and Sorny!
I’m just boring enough that I decided to figure out what this thing is underneath. It appears to be a 2013 (or thereabouts) Toyota Tacoma Double Cab, judging by the shapes of the windows (which are partially covered from the outside, but fully visible from inside) and things like the door cards. The steering wheel threw me, but that’s because it’s from a 2008-ish Buick LaCrosse.
I was thinking the same thing but with Dodge Dakota vibes. The ridge up the A-pillar and across the roof line is throwing me off.
Pfft, Lemons did it better.
https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/but-wait-theres-more/a34389249/24-hours-of-lemons-cybertruck-homage-nearly-indistinguishable-from-real-thing/
On the subject of loving a good knock off, when I met Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons, when he used my 24 Hours of Lemons racer to promote the 25th of the show, somehow the topic of knock offs came up and he told us he actually has a storage unit full of knock off Simpsons stuff. If you’re of my age you probably remember when Bart Simpson was placed in all kinds of non Fox approved situations on counterfeit shirts back in the ’90s.
I remember the t-shirts where they would change the ethnicity of the characters. I had a “I’m Bart Simpson, who the hell are you?” t-shirt and people would give me so much crap over it.
As a kid, I had a t shirt with a black Bart Simpson stuck in a gigantic butt with the words “Crack Kills” under the picture.
My mom threw it out once she discovered it.
I want to open it up and get a look at the dashboard. Not as rendered, but the *real* dashboard that would show me what off-the-shelf pickup this prototype was built around. I’m guessing Chevy Colorado because there’s something vaguely GMish about those cab hard points.
I think the side profile is better looking than the actual Cyberpunk.
I was thinking the same too, it looks like a more evolved design, like what the Cybertruck Gen2 would look like if Tesla ever actually updated a design beyond the front fascia.
Yep, Tesla could use this as a template when they do a facelift. Oh, wait, no facelifts for Tesla.
the paint, welds and side mirror grommet give this thing major “Over-priced grill for sale at the grocery store” vibes.
This is fun to laugh at and all, but I’m curious to understand the details behind the scam. Surely it’s a take-the-money-and-run situation where production models will never see the road, the company going out of business long before they can deliver but after they’ve collected all the deposits.
But what would make someone even want to plunk down a Benjamin for the deposit?
Talking to the company representative will be an interesting conversation for sure, but I’d be just as interested to talk to someone who put down a deposit.
We actually don’t know. It appears that the low-cost model is not slated to start shipping at this point (this has been determined by the VIN coding they have set up), and at least one person has reported that Tesla has reached out to confirm their order and asked for 6 figures (I believe for the tri-motor setup). As far as I know, there has been no official confirmation of pricing.
I don’t know if this would be purchased to fool anyone. If so, it would fool no one. I think they’d purchase this to specifically avoid the Cybertruck (but also not go for the Lightning, Silverado, or Ram, I guess?).
Maybe, but I doubt that would drive many buyers.
My guess: anyone putting a deposit on this is hoping to get in early and cheap on something they hope will turn into something big. They’re wrong, most likely. The company will probably disappear with whatever money they can pull on preorders.
This was probably built in North Korea, where the $100.00 deposits will fund the nefarious deeds of the current despot.
How the hell did this POS get into an autoshow. I’ve seen cars that are less than half the original car due to how much they’ve rust away that are better car show material than this POS.
Honestly, I think so long as you pay for the space, they’ll let anyone in. Detroit had tons of tiny booths with companies you never heard of and will never remember.
Amusingly, this is parked where ElectraMeccanica was last year. Will Aitekx survive to next year?
“Will Aitekx survive to next year?”
It’s not looking good…like the RoboTruck.
At least ElectraMeccanica delivered some vehicles. There’s someone at my workplace still driving one some of the time. This company will likely disappear after it collects as much preorder money as it can. At this rate, next year’s company in the location will go out of business during the show.
At first I thought the finish was actually better, but “wow!”
Oh this thing is glorious. Some of those pics are just…chefs kiss. My favorite part is the name – it absolutely reads like a knockoff cheapo Chinese brand on amazon. Like, hmm…this deal on lightning cables and battery block is pretty good…but it’s absolutely going to burn my house down.
Are we sure this isn’t for an SNL video?
Little known fact: Aitekx is named after Musk’s next kid.
Seems slightly too pronounceable for that
If we were just talking about the press renders, I’d say this is one of the cases where the knockoff surpasses the original. But look at that Build Kwality…It looks like something that was built by the Top Gear/Grand Tour guys in an isolated mechanic’s garage on some far away continent. To say it reminds me of the Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust would be an understatement.
I love it.
Could this in fact be part of the next Grand Tour special? Has anyone checked for the hidden camera?
The one based off an old MDX was a better Cybertruck 😛
I’m picturing Elon in his backyard with spare Cybertruck parts and pieces of a Silverado, holding a mallet in one hand and a salami in the other, muttering to himself “When they see my Robotruck, they’ll come begging for my Cybertruck! AHAHAHAHA!”
This is all a false flag from Muskrat to make the Cybertruck look better. 4-D chess, y’all!
“diety-level shoddy”
I saw what you did there.
This looks like someone chopped the top off something in their garage and then screwed and riveted on some sheet metal to make it appear as something else.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they completed the renders last week and hacked this together for the show.
Maybe they’re bringing back “The Apprentice” and this was the first challenge.
Maybe a Celebrity Apprentice with Stevie Wonder as the project manager and Robert De Niro as the lead metalworker?
Seems more like a way to collect as much investor $$ and $100 deposits as possible then vanish to Costa Rica than an actual attempt to get a car on the road.
I find your ideas intriguing and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
I dunno how many deposits they’ll get, unless they also hand out free booze and have some sort of honey trap setup – which would cost more than $100 per punter, anyhow. Someone may become a thousandaire from this.
This really does make me wonder about the, what, two at this point?, potential future DeLoreans we’ve seen only on screen…
This seems like a hacked together engineering test mule (and not even a well-finished example of that) never intended to be seen by the public other than in some grainy, long-distance “spy” photos of it running around on a test track that get conveniently released the same week the company is getting ready for a new bond issue.
I think it is even less than a test mule. I think it’s a pickup truck that had facias tacked to it. More of a design exercise. I’ll bet if you looked under the hood it’s a Dodge Ram or something.