Anyone who deemed Tesla’s Cybertruck an impressive but perhaps less-than-pretty automotive offering may change their minds at the sight of a one-off version that has gone on display in Dubai.
In keeping with its name, the city’s Gold Souk Extension has shipped in a 24k-gold-plated version of the electric monster for visitors at the venue to feast their eyes upon. Someone will get more than a chance to just peer through their sunglasses at the beyond-chintzy vehicle, though.
The Cybertruck in question is the prize in a raffle open to souk shoppers who spend enough on goods to qualify for inclusion. To be precise, every Dh500 spent at the venue will entitle the buyer to a ticket.
Gold-plated Cybertrucks are evidently a rarity. However, similar vehicles have been created in the past using a process called electroplating. This is technically challenging, but doing it to a Cybertruck is particularly problematic due to its stainless-steel chassis.
It is notoriously difficult to get anything to bond with this metal, so getting the gold coating to stick would involve etching the surface with acid. After further chemical treatments, and a thorough cleaning with concentrated soap, the gold would then be sprayed on to the bodyshell – twice – having first been mixed with a small percentage of cobalt to accentuate the adhesive process.
The Cybertruck first made its appearance on the world stage in 2023, with the UAE receiving its first deliveries just before the end of the year. The dual-motor electric vehicle has a bulletproof exoskeleton, shatterproof windscreen and a range of 400km after an eight-hour charge. It can also race to 100 kph in 6.7 seconds and has a top speed of about 180 kph.
Dubai Police added the futuristic-looking model to its luxury fleet in the summer. “The Dubai Police General Command has added the Tesla Cybertruck, the modern electric car with a futuristic design, to its tourist police luxury patrol fleet,” they posted on X, to which Tesla chief executive Elon Musk sent a one-word reply: “Cool”.
The emirate also got its first rentable Tesla Cybertruck, courtesy of Russian entrepreneur Kirill Sosnovyi, founder of Dubai-based Connect Ai, who is offering the car for Dh700 ($190) by the hour or Dh2,800 a day.
The National's test drive of Sosnovyi's car was exciting and challenging in equal measure. For one, with no key and no starter button it was difficult to know where to start. Literally. Parking the wedge-shaped vehicle of this size – and power – also takes some getting used to. A Tesla app operates everything from opening the rear storage slider and “frunk” – the trunk that sits in front of the cabin – to even operating the horn.
The real time experience of driving a Cybertruck may not deliver the throaty roar and rumble of the usual supercars seen racing the streets of Dubai, but the thrill remains, despite the soothing silence of an electric powered dual motor and 48V lithium-ion low voltage battery unit. A robust off-roader, it has a Baja mode that elevates the suspension and pressurises the high voltage battery, protecting it from water and debris while driving through shallow wadis and streams.
This is a car for attention seekers, whether in stainless steel or gold-plated. Speaking of which, the model at the souk will be on display until December 29 when a competition winner will be picked.
