The Cybertruck is coming FortniteThe popular free-to-play battle royale shooter announced the arrival of the meme’s nightmare vehicle on Monday. Post to XAnyone interested in driving and wreaking havoc in the digital Cybertruck will have access to it from July 23rd.
The Cybertruck is a Tesla product, whose fate and image rests in the hands of the company’s owner, Elon Musk, and it became a culture war flashpoint long before the vehicle suffered mechanical failures soon after hitting the roads.
The trucks are so hated that they can be met with open scorn and ridicule when spotted. One Cybertruck owner told The New York Times that passersby in Ford F-150s regularly give them the finger in the road. “A guy in a big, heavy diesel truck came up to me and started laughing as he went by,” the owner said of a recent incident at a charging station. “It was weird. Someone just suddenly starts laughing uncontrollably.”
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Get on board Tesla The Cybertruck is coming to Fortnite tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/CA8xuYQreS
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) July 22, 2024
The Cybertruck was derided as an ugly, polygonal aesthetic crime when it was first unveiled, and as the truck’s very real and dangerous mechanical problems piled up, Musk’s haters delighted in sharing footage of the car. Die on the roadafter bricklaying Washing the carand almost Cut off a finger Someone is messing with the trunk.
The Cybertruck has become an embarrassing symbol of Musk’s cultural decline. He has made himself the mascot for every company he touches — SpaceX, Tesla, etc. — and the fortunes of those companies have shifted along with public perception. While he still has a cult following, he is increasingly alienating people who might otherwise be willing to pay more for his goods.
After the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Musk publicly supported the candidate, pledging to donate $45 million a month to a new super PAC seeking Trump’s reelection. The news was unpopular with potential Tesla customers. “Elon’s last stand puts me in a very difficult moral position,” Tesla investor Ross Gerber told Yahoo Finance. “I drive a Cybertruck, and now it’s like a MAGA truck.”
Savvy companies can make money from the culture wars. Musk touted the Cybertruck as bulletproof. It’s not, and neither is the video game version. Starting tomorrow, Musk haters can seek some kind of catharsis by hunting down the ugly truck and blowing it up. FortniteMusk’s fans can buy the car to show their support for the aging meme king.
Everyone is a winner. Everyone feels something.
