• James May checks out the Tesla Cybertruck in California and the resulting video is mostly a critique of its design.
• Even though he wouldn’t own one, James says there is a lot to like about the Cybertruck and he appreciates its unusual design.

There doesn’t seem to be a big difference between James May, the gin-promoting YouTuber, and his old Top Gear persona. He recently uploaded a video on his James May’s Planet Gin YouTube channel in which he checks out the Tesla Cybertruck, and at one point he pulls out a steel ruler to measure just how flat its cold-pressed, unpainted stainless steel body panels are—that’s such a Captain Slow thing to do.

He actually proves a very good point by doing this: trying to get the panels perfectly flat will result in them looking distorted. That’s why there is a slight curve to some Cybertruck panels, which actually helps them appear flat even though they aren’t. Interestingly, when he takes the ruler to measure the passenger side doors, the front door is slightly convex while the rear door is almost perfectly flat.

Some panels are completely flat, especially around the rear quarter panel area, but most aren’t. James clarifies this is not the result of shoddily pressed panels that are warped. It is intentional and a way to highlight the sharpness of the design. He then takes a timelapse walk around the vehicle to decide whether he likes the design, and at the end, he declares that he does.

“The Cybertruck is actually very ballsy and quite humorous,” he says, “but I am quite glad it exists.” 

While driving the Cybertruck, James argues that the steer-by-wire system, which doesn’t have a physical connection between the helm and the wheels, is “alarming.” He admits that by having such a system, the vehicle can do things that wouldn’t be possible if it had a conventional steering rack, and he concludes that it’s a positive trait of the Cybertruck.

Some of the negatives he points out in the review include the blind spot created by the thick and awkwardly positioned A-pillars or the blinding glare that its body panels often create. He says that even though there’s plenty to like about the truck (he’s also a known EV advocate who has owned several Teslas over the years), he wouldn’t like to own a Cybertruck because it’s too big and it’s a pickup truck, a body style that carries very different connotations in any other part of the world outside the United States, where it’s exceedingly popular.