An old proverb said that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” but for one admirer of Elon Musk, his attention bore meaningful fruit.
Related: Here are all the issues with Elon Musk’s Cybertruck
Although Tesla has has begun deliveries of the long-awaited Cybertruck on Nov. 30, a Vietnam-based wood artist named Truong Van Dao took matters into his own hands and built his own.
Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk stands in front of the shattered windows of the newly unveiled all-electric battery-powered Tesla’s Cybertruck at Tesla Design Center in Hawthorne, Calif. on Nov. 21, 2019.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/Getty Images
But instead of the shiny, stainless steel panels that cover all the sharp edges of the real, $61,000 Tesla (TSLA) – Get Free Report Cybertruck, the Bad Ninh native made his out of an equally radical material — wood.
Dao, a car enthusiast at heart, has made several working replicas of various vehicles using his skills as a woodworker, including a Bugatti, a Mercedes AVTR concept car for his children and a full-size tank.
The Cybertruck replica in total, took Van Dao 100 days to make and documented on his YouTube channel, where he built the working, driving model from the ground up.
Starting from a metal chassis and frame, the artist used wood panels to simulate each and every panel of the Cybertruck, down to its unusually shaped steering wheel, seats and even its signature wheel covers.
In addition, Dao added real LED headlights and taillights, an illuminated X (formerly known as Twitter) logo on the driver’s door, as well as a functional Cyberquad that can be removed from the truckbed via a functioning ramp.
The wood artist reached out to Musk on X, where he expressed his gratitude and admiration for his company and offered the replica to the Tesla CEO.
Sure, much appreciated ❤️
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 3, 2023
Elon Musk himself replied to the tweet featuring the thoughtful gift. “Sure, much appreciated,” he replied.
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Videos detailing the construction of Dao’s creation have garnered more than 70 million views on TikTok alongside other videos of his creations.
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