One of the weirder things about the Tesla faithful is their… nontraditional view of what constitutes a depreciating asset. Case in point: A YouTuber who was shocked earlier this week when CarMax wouldn’t offer him over MSRP for his vinyl-wrapped Cybertruck.
For a quick econ lesson, cars are generally worth less when they’re in “used” condition — previously owned by another person — than when they’re “new” and untitled. This YouTuber may simply have not taken Econ 101, so Spock Jenkins, of the Jenkins boys of Vulcan and Nilus hopped in to help.
Now, this may have been less a lesson on economics and more a judgement call on the vehicle and its owner, but it’s still an important lesson to learn. The Cybertuck? Not a fantastic vehicle. Its owners? Not necessarily fantastic either.
Cybertruck owners can’t exactly be said to be folks of taste, but at least their trucks are durable, reliable work vehicles. Ah, shit. Uh, they’re impressively capable off-road! No, wait, not that either. Purchasing one doesn’t send six figures to a weird megalomaniac who once made a slideshow about how Twitter could totally have prevented the Holocaust if only it had been invented and purchased by Elon Musk in time? Incredibly specific, but also no.
Cybertruck owners may not have prestige, or luxury, or realistic bulletproofing, or the ability to drive in snow, or respect from any person who sees them on the road, but they do have… something. Probably.
Congrats, Spock Jenkins, of the Jenkins boys of Vulcan and Nilus, on your shared COTD win. Let Dylan Brady and Laura Les join in your anti-Cybertruck crusade, and help explain to YouTubers what happens when they talk a lotta big game for someone with such a small truck.