Cybertruck vs. The Zombie Mobile

4 Mental Traps to Avoid When Evaluating the Design of Tesla’s Truck

As the Cybertruck continues to blow up the internet, occasionally my Zombie Mobile story gets referenced. If you add the Cybertruck to my matrix of crossover vehicles you could come to the conclusion that the Cybertruck is the vehicle we have been asking for. Defenders of the Cybertruck’s design point at criticism of crossovers and say, “You can’t criticize the uniformity of car design and then complain when something breaks the mold.” Allow me to frame the situation differently.

The premise of my upcoming book, User Zero is that humans often lack the skills to evaluate our tools. Instead of understanding what makes one thing good and another thing bad, we resort to gut reactions based on style and brand preference. We find ourselves in situations where the quality of objects is invisible. Conversations inevitably devolve into, “If you hate/love the Cybertruck, you are a Nazi.” Is it possible to evaluate the design of the Cybertruck without resorting to tribal warfare? Here are four mental traps that you can avoid as you evaluate the Cybertruck’s design.

1. Attractiveness Bias

Is the Cybertruck Ugly? To measure the beauty of the Cybertruck you need to compare it to other beautiful…