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Tesla Cybertruck: ‘Iconic. Brutal. Perfect,’ says rival designer

Renault's boss of concept car design has heaped praised on Elon Musk's controversial electric pick-up.


One of the world’s leading car designers has called the Tesla Cybertruck a "perfect design".

François Leboine, the boss of concept car design at French auto giant Renault, bestowed the accolades on Tesla’s striking and revolutionary design for a ute during a video conference with Australian journalists.

“It's very funny because as a design exercise, [the Tesla Cybertruck] is touching the opposites,” he said. “On one hand it's the perfect design exercise to be iconic. Iconic of course for designers is the best because you become immediately recognisable and the world, you're detaching yourself from the world. And there is no better way to make you known and recognised than making a very simple, simplistic design and that is of course immediately iconic.”

However, Leboine did concede the sharp angles of the Cybertruck conflicted him.

“You know, there's something that bothers me, I would say,” he added. “There is something which is very brutal in this design and that kind of makes me wonder if I could do something like this. If I would accept to go to this very strong and simple iconic design without stopping myself from doing it.

“And also the quantity of material of batteries, of energy, of weight used in to discourage is for me a limit that is difficult to understand. But it's mainly because I'm more European. But in terms of pure stylist, styling exercise, I love it.”

Leboine, whose portfolio includes the equally revolutionary Renault Twizy electric vehicle, revealed he would be keen to add a pick-up truck to his portfolio. However, the lack of a market in Europe for such vehicles – Renault has just the single ute in its range, the Alaskan – would mean fulfilling that ambition unlikely.

“As a designer, I would love to draw a pick-up,” he said,” especially a big one. I think it's an old dream of designers, especially if you are European. It's something you don't know, you almost never see the streets.

“Designers always want to draw something they've never drawn. They always dream of working on projects that they don't see every day… I'd like to make a pick-up of course, but I'm not sure it's in the big plans of Renault at the moment.”

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Rob Margeit

Rob Margeit is an award-winning Australian motoring journalist and editor who has been writing about cars and motorsport for over 25 years. A former editor of Australian Auto Action, Rob’s work has also appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Wheels, Motor Magazine, Street Machine and Top Gear Australia. Rob’s current rides include a 1996 Mercedes-Benz E-Class and a 2000 Honda HR-V Sport.

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