During what was an otherwise normal drive to the barber shop, I found myself executing a sudden and arguably reckless U-turn.
Though I had more-or-less vowed to back off of Tesla website content for a while, I was now following a Cybertruck at close range. This was, however, no ordinary Cybertruck, it was teal, or something close to teal, and was also the single most obnoxious vehicle I had seen in motion in years.
Cybertruck Wraps
The truck was literally glowing in an almost radioactive sense, popping visually from the surrounding gray and sleety suburban background like a like a tire fire on Earth Day.
It wasn’t just the color that drew the attention of virtually everyone within 100 yards of the colorized Tesla, it was how slowly it was moving. It seemed as if the pilot of this rolling tribute to visual anarchy was not entirely comfortable behind its wheel.
Having turned into the parking lot of the local Trader Joe’s, the glowing Cybertruck came to a complete stop in the aisles several times, occasionally bringing traffic to a halt, and never moving forward at more than a crawl. Yet, despite the clear lack of driving acumen, the owner/operator of the truck chose to back into a parking spot.
frustratingly, the backing process was made more complicated by the narrow parking spaces at this Joe’s location, as well as the driver’s unwillingness to turn the steering wheel more than three degrees in any direction.
The parking process, which consumed most of ten minutes, was not unlike watching a hermit crab change shells. If you didn’t own hermit crabs as a kid, you don’t know what you missed.
Having assumed that the show was over, I began moving forward passed the Teal monster. It was then that I caught a glimpse of the truck’s operator as she exited her ride: a young woman not more than five-feet tall. The absurdity of the moment was now complete.
A women, possible no more than 80 pounds in weight, was driving around Arlington Heights, Illinois, in an 8000-pound stainless-steel truck that had been re-colored Teal.
I can understand the urge to color a Cybertruck. Though there are only 50,000 or so of them on the road, they stand out in traffic like a flaming clown car—and they seem to be everywhere. The uniqueness of Elon Musk’s fever-dream creation has become ubiquity, taking what I assume is some of the fun out of ownership.
But how does one color a Cybertruck? Great question. Note that earlier we said re-color, not repaint. This because Cybertrucks aren’t painted at all. The big beast’s body panels are made of brushed stainless steel, a finish which doesn’t take well to paint, and is instead meant to serve as the end product.
In lieu of paint, Cybertruck owners are turning to “wraps,” applied mylar-like material that is layered over the body panels and can be—generally—removed at the owner’s discretion.
Per Tesla, “…these wraps are made from polyvinyl chloride, making them extra durable, versatile and removable. Choose between matte, satin and gloss finishes.”
For a short While, Tesla was both selling the wrap material, and arranging for application at the maker’s official service centers. Per a number of message boards, Tesla is no longer handling wrap installation, though there are plenty of shops capable of handling the job. Wrapping cars is a pretty common customization option these days, and not just for vehicles made of stainless steel.
Per the same message boards, the cost of having your Cybertruck wrapped can run as high as $10,000, though the figure we saw most often was $6500, including the cost of the wrap material itself.
Compared to the premium paint options on some new cars, which can run from as little as $300, to more than $2500 on a Porsche model, wrapping a vehicle strikes us as expensive. Compounding the expense is the life expectancy of the wrap itself. While well-applied, well-cared-for wraps are understood to last as long as eight years, some treatments fail to last just two years.
A quick survey—again of message boards—suggests that most wrap treatments will last four-five years, which doesn’t seem like long enough given the price. Additionally, some Cbyertruck owners are complaining online that the vinyl is difficult to remove from the truck’s stainless-steel panels, leaving the finish discolored.
Still, we appreciate why a Cybertruck owner might want to wrap his or her truck. When you spend upwards of $100,000 on vehicular absurdity, you want your vehicular absurdity to be unique. And if every one looks the same, maybe all you’ve done by making the purchase is join a cult.
Our advice: If you’re looking for a truly original experience, might we recommend wrapping your Cybertruck in teal and blocking traffic in a Trader Joe’s parking lot? Extra points if you are of limited stature.
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Cybertruck Wraps Pictures
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