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The Street
The Street
James Ochoa

A legendary car designer has a radical opinion on the much-criticized Tesla Cybertruck

Ever since its reveal in November 2019, the Tesla (TSLA) -) Cybertruck has been the subject of praise by Tesla fanboys and much more ridicule from the general public.

Despite other issues production and delivery setbacks, the radical truck's sharp lines and boxy shape has been etched into our conscience whether we like the way it looks or not. 

Related: Popular car of the year wins the title again after 20 years

However, one highly influential car designer has given his input on Elon's creation.

Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign is regarded by many car enthusiasts as an influential designer. His experiments with different design languages over the years, including his legendary "wedge-shaped" designs in the 1970s led to him designing many well-known and legendary cars throughout his career. 

From everyday commuters like the original Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit, the Lexus GS, to icons like the DeLorean DMC-12, Giugiaro has shaped radical, cool design into both dream cars and attainable runabouts. 

DeLorean cars parked at Petersen Automotive Museum.

Timothy Norris/Getty Images

But as a person who has immensely changed the game on car design, he knows that obstacles come in the way of such change. In a recent interview with NPR, he said that the Cybertruck is a prime example of that.

"When you step outside the norms, it's almost always seen as a provocation," Giugiaro said. "It happens in all fields, from furniture to cooking, etc. Everyone wants to distinguish themselves; it's a market necessity, and the Cybertruck will surely be successful, I'm sure of it. I'm convinced it will find its admirers."

Though many are keen to know whether the 85-year-old Italian designer thinks the electric truck is ugly or not, he doesn't have a clear, straight opinion about the truck itself, but does have some optimism for the controversial EV.

"I don't want to judge the Cybertruck as beautiful or ugly. It certainly has its admirers who want a vehicle to stand out," he said.

 More Business of EVs:

In a tweet shortly after the 2019 reveal of the Cybertruck, Musk revealed that the design of the truck was "influenced partly by The Spy Who Loved Me," attaching a link to the clip of the 1977 movie that features Wet Nellie, the Lotus Esprit-based submarine he bought for $1 million at a 2013 auction. 

The white Lotus Esprit S1 famously driven by Roger Moore in the film that popularized it, was designed by Giugiaro during his tenure at Italdesign. 

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