The estimated cost is lower than that of a standalone boat and its creator says it is also easier to deploy.
A young entrepreneur from Washington state is offering future owners of Tesla’s Cybertruck a way to transform it into a boat, potentially one they could even live in.
The idea may seem far-fetched, especially since it concerns one of Tesla’s (TSLA) – Get Tesla Inc Report‘s most anticipated vehicles, whose market arrival has been delayed. It is not even certain that it will be sold in the next two years.
But despite those caveats, and while awaiting the arrival of the Cybertruck, a young Seattle entrepreneur is now unveiling a concept that transforms the vehicle into an astonishing high-performance catamaran.
Using that technology, the Cybertruck can become amphibious, and directly supplied with energy via the vehicle — going from an all-terrain electric truck to a sailboat.
Anthony Diamond, founding chief executive officer of startup Memory Maps Inc., proposes adding modularity to the due futuristically designed Cybertruck. He attributes turning it into a catamaran to a statement made by Elon Musk in 2020.
Musk had said the futuristic vehicle design was “influenced partly by ‘The Spy Who Loved Me,'” a reference to the amphibious Lotus Esprit S1 featured in the 1977 James Bond film.
Diamond, who holds a doctorate in materials science and engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, took him at his word, and wants to take advantage of the creative interest aroused by the Cybertruck.
The concept proposed by TSWLM Electric Vehicles Inc can transform the Cybertruck into a vehicle capable of navigating on water and new extreme terrains.
That means owners could join an island by water or simply take a break to go diving right underneath their car.
10 Minutes to Transform
The Cybercat brings together several components that can be stored on the truck without interfering with its vehicular autonomy, and added to it to transform it into a boat.
The estimated cost is lower than that of a standalone boat, both in terms of maintenance and the initial price, and its creator says it is also easier to deploy.
It would only take five to 10 minutes to go from the vehicle to the boat, Diamond said.
“As an early Cybertruck reservation holder and a Model 3 owner, I was excited about tweets from Elon that indicated Cybertruck should be able to serve as a boat for short periods,” Diamond wrote on a dedicated website.
“This past summer, I developed a concept for a portable, hydrofoiling, electric water vehicle that could collapse for storage in a bike locker,” he wrote.
“This personal watercraft would allow a user to quickly transition from crossing water to becoming a pedestrian without the need for boat parking or to carry around the vehicle’s extra weight.”
But he added there were some pitfalls, mostly seasonably related.
“This concept was impractical and dangerous to use in winter weather,” Diamond said. “In a vehicle like a Cybertruck that could travel faster in the water, this crossing would become more feasible.”
How Much Would It Cost?
Diamond believes the Cybercat catamaran would be priced between $22,000 and $32,900, depending on how many engines you want to add.
The maximum is five, for a total output of 335 horsepower. The maximum speed is estimated at just over 22 knots (about 25mph) and the range at 100 nautical miles at a cruising speed of five knots (5.7mph), and at 44 nautical miles at a speed of 13 knots (15mph).
It is possible to upgrade to the Cybercat Foiler, which costs between $35,400 and $42,900.
A Cybercat Houseboat is a Possibility
And Diamond does not stop there.
He proposes transforming the Cybertruck into a potential houseboat, via a modified Cybercat equipped with a tent or a camping module, moored in the marina and transformed into a permanent floating residence.
That in turn can become a Cybercat Island, which is a floating neighborhood made up of several Cybercats connected by bridges at the tailgates.
The energy available through the Cybertruck’s technology even makes it possible to cook, which would recharge the electric boats.
The Cybercat is patent pending and both versions of the module are reserved.
