Students at one of the preeminent automotive design colleges in the US recently got to experience the original Tesla Cybertruck prototype in person thanks to one of its former students, Franz von Holzhausen.
Tesla’s Chief Designer attended the college from 1988 to 1992. After his graduation he was hired VW, GM, and Mazda in various design roles, before eventually joining the ranks at Tesla in its early days of August 2008.
Now working as the Chief Designer, von Holzhausen has had a major impact on the design of the millions of Tesla lineup of vehicles. Soon his portfolio is going to increase with the release of the Cybertruck.
Not forgetting his roots, von Holzhausen attended the ArtCenter Design Invitational this week, bringing with him the original Cybertruck prototype.
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von Holzhausen also spoke at the event. We have only been able to find one clip of his appearance on stage in which he talks about the biggest questions he gets about the electric truck today, “is this really what it’s going to look like and when can I get one?”
Unfortunately von Holzhausen doesn’t reveal any new information about the final design that has yet to be officially revealed, but he does say “yes, it’s coming next year, it’s going to look like this” while the Cybertruck drives up in front of the stage.
Of course von Holzhausen is speaking in generalities, as we already know there will some changes to the final design compared to the original prototype, like the lack of door handles, a large wiper blade, and removable side mirrors.
We don’t know yet when Tesla will finally reveal the consumer version of the Cybertruck, but the company is inching closer to starting production next year. As of the most recent update during the Q3 2022 earnings call earlier this month, that is still on track to begin in mid-2023.
If all goes well we should hopefully see the first deliveries happening in the US in the second half of next year. Going by previous vehicle launches, it probably won’t be until late 2023 or even early 2024 until we see the Cybertruck land in Canada.
You can also watch this interview with von Holzhausen from KTLA 5.
