Testing The Limits Of Reality With The New Tesla Cybertruck

Curiosity and the drive to experiment are rooted in human nature; humankind has always tried to define the edge of what is considered as ‘possible’, by pushing the boundaries further and further. In this era of innovative experience, technology has broken out of reality’s confines at unprecedented speed, merging the physical with the digital more seamlessly than ever. IGNANT has harnessed the power of technology to explore current leading-edge trends and new avenues of storytelling. Combining our interest in architecture with Tesla’s new release of the ‘Cybertruck’, we utilized CGI technology to create an imagined reality—one that is surreal, yet still discernible—and to digitally document the vehicle’s interaction with moving infrastructures and Brutalist architecture. Serving as a catalyst for the exploration of the binary relationships of reality/virtuality and past/future, the blending of the three elements: the ‘Cybertruck’, the 3D-rendering, and the Brutalist scenery is fitting, for they all have a futuristic quality inherent in them and an undeniable mission to challenge reality.

Tesla has been at the forefront of automotive innovation for years, advancing the frontiers of vehicle development in pursuit of unparalleled driving experiences and designs. The truck is both visually imposing and technologically outstanding; a striking example of designing with no compromises.Its latest invention, the commercial vehicle ‘Cybertruck’, stands out for its deceptive simplicity and unique design. Looking like a rover designed for a Mars exploration, the futuristic vehicle is a bold testimony to Tesla’s designer Franz von Holzhause’s eagerness to always push into new terrain. The truck is both visually imposing and technologically outstanding; a striking example of designing with no compromises. Its stainless steel form, electric-powered speed, and strength, suggest a radical redefinition of the road truck as we know it. The ‘Cybertruck’ has taken the principles of aerodynamics to the extreme; its armored glass windows and bulletproof exoskeleton suggest an indestructibility, while its unconventional and almost alien design characterized by sharp, aggressive angles, is an extraordinary dystopian throwback.

Automotive critics have been quick to label the ‘Cybertruck’ a “Brutalist sculpture”. The similarities between Brutalism and the vehicle are, indeed, apparent; the hard angles, the steel material, and the overall dystopian appearance, are all reminiscent of The ‘Cybertruck’ could fit into the utopian projects of Brutalism; it breathes the same spirit of audacity and purports similarly uncompromising impulses.
the radical, disruptive design intent of the architecture movement itself. Derived from the French phrase for raw concrete, béton brut, Brutalist architecture is characterized by its austerity and rawness; it does not aspire to be beautiful, cosmetic, or optimistic; it is instead brutal, dramatic, imposing, and an act of deliberate visual provocation. Brought to life by some of the world’s leading architects, including Le Corbusier, Raul Rudolph, and Marcel Breuer, the post-war movement promoted raw beauty and disregarded tradition and conventionality—its rough textures, neutral tones, and intricate geometric compositions were a move away from previously existing architectural aesthetics. As a radical reimagining of automotive technology, the ‘Cybertruck’ could fit into the utopian projects of Brutalism; it breathes the same spirit of audacity and purports similarly uncompromising impulses.

Making the impossible an observable reality through the magic of 3D-technology, computer-generated imagery (CGI) offers the chance to explore architecture as a forever unfolding narrative. The speeding replica of the ‘Cybertruck’ becomes a player in this narrative, morphing and changing the spaces it occupies and crosses, and altering the environment that surrounds it. This aims to be reminiscent of Brutalism’s investment in the interaction between inner and outer spaces, visible in its architectural elements inextricably penetrating each other. The spaces of the virtual cityscape become known through the journey of the vehicle; as the Tesla truck traverses the infrastructures and buildings, the architecture changes and the dystopian environment of the city is temporarily reinvented, further estranging us from a perception of reality as we know it. Responding to the car’s movements and advancements in space, the usually inflexible and immutable Brutalist architecture becomes dynamic; levels move around, walls slide open and buildings unfold, opening and closing, yet maintaining in the process their clean, absolute forms.

The idea of a moving architecture has a compelling correlation with the themes explored in Tesla’s design. If the truck pushes the boundaries of form, texture, and materiality, the solid, geometric shapes of the architecture embedded with movement declare a disregardment for convention. The way the architecture morphs and changes itself further mimics the car’s capacity of autonomous mobility. IGNANT has taken the electric-powered truck to further heights, by visualizing the ‘Cybertruck’ as a free-moving driverless vehicle; a symbol of mechanical control and technological advancement that can radically transform our transportation system. The focus on autonomous mobility redefines the significance of reality, imbuing the Tesla truck with another level of produced imagination; the self-driving ‘Cybertruck’ becomes a radical new vision for what cars can do—the next mobility revolution.

If space can be described and transformed through rendered reality and if architecture can become an alive environment within which autonomous vehicles move, can IGNANT’s carefully constructed reality become an actuality, or have we just tested the limits of what is possible? Albert Einstein said that, “for an idea that does not first seem insane, there is no hope.” So, as the true boundaries of what is possible are changing, new ideas remain visible on the horizon.