Indian automotive designer proposes an electric pick-up truck that looks familiar

Debopam Das, an Indian product designer who holds a master’s degree in Automotive Design from IIT Bombay thought the Cybertruck was a trick played on viewers by Tesla Motors when it was revealed last year. When he was convinced otherwise, he wasn’t going to be one of the designers who grew to accept the truck’s looks. He however is stunned by the promised specs and capabilities of the vehicle.

Das told ElectricVehicleWeb that he decided to start rendering an electric pickup truck for those who prefer the classic form (like the Ford F-150 or the Hummer) while packing in some of the abilities of the Cybertruck. Here’s what he told us:

Inspiration for the Thor:

Basically it started with the release of the Cybertruck. When I saw the Cybertruck design as someone’s meme in a page, it looked terrible and that was my first impression. Some people said that it’s growing on them but I just couldn’t digest the design. As an automotive design, it was unacceptable. A couple of days later is when I got to know that this is a real thing and Tesla Motors has actually revealed the model. I read about the specifications, and those were stunning! The pricing, the tech, the motor, power output – it is amazing.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The reason that the design looks like that is because the metal (stainless steel exoskeleton) that it’s made of. The only way that it can be made is by laser cutting, so that was the kind of design that could come out (given the manufacturing limitations or choices). Thor is a Cybertruck the way I see it should look like. That was the idea.

Take us through the design features and the styling..

The Thor is a hobby project. I just enjoyed making it and like you said, I got a lot of inspiration from Hummer and from Jeep, old-school ATVs and military vehicles. I tried to keep some of the Cybertruck elements like the edgy design, flat surfaces and not much curves. Technically, it is work in progress. It’s a huge truck and stands almost 7 feet tall, ground to roof.

Also See: Tesla Cybertruck inspired Cyberickshaw is one that we want!

Tesla Cybertruck & GMC Hummer Electric progressing towards production

Meanwhile Tesla Motors is scouting for land to build a factory to make the Cybertruck and it is reported that Austin (Texas) is the front runner where both the Cybertruck and the Model Y cars will begin rolling out by end of next year. Meanwhile at GM, the Hummer electric’s plans are untouched by the Coronavirus breakout and the company is on schedule to launch the vehicle in late-2021 in the USA. The GMC Hummer electric will be made at a facility that will be powered by renewable energy – solar and wind.