There are cars that are so bad they’re good and then there’s the Aitekx RoboTruck, which is so bad you’re surprised it was even allowed to be shown at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Thanks to a combination of shoddy workmanship and a terrible website, the Tesla Cybertruck knockoff quickly grabbed headlines and became one of the biggest stars of the show. However, it was for all the wrong reasons and we were left with more questions than answers.
Our friends at The Autopian are helping to fill in some of the blanks as David Tracy and Jason Torchinsky checked out the truck, and talked to some of the people behind the mysterious company. The results are a wonderful mix of awkward, bad, and surprising.
More: Aitekx RoboTruck Is A $45K Cybertruck Clone That Makes The Tesla Look Like A Rolls
Starting with the overview, the duo check out the truck and examine it’s questionable build quality. As you can see, there are sizable gaps and sealant applied so poorly that it looks like a last minute rush job.
The haphazardness doesn’t end there as the original door handles can be seen behind ill-fitting skins. The truck also sports LED lighting strips, which appear to be consumer grade and designed for use around the house.
On top of that, the rear side glass has Toyota badging and this could indicate the truck is based on the Tacoma. However, a company representative denied that and implied a few pieces were sourced from existing products.
Photo The Autopian
Despite the less than stellar appearance, the truck appears to have a legitimate electric powertrain as an examination of the underbody reveals a battery pack as well as two electric motors. The Autopian also notes the chassis appears to be unique and the video provides a glimpse at some custom components.
That’s surprising as the company could have avoided much of the PR disaster by showing a rolling chassis as well as renderings of the finished product. Of course, hindsight is 20/20.
Getting back to disasters, the question and answer session is something to behold as David and Jason talked to a mysterious man named Ed, who refused to provide his last name and said he had no official title. That’s bizarre by itself, but he denied the RoboTruck was inspired by the Cybertruck, which is hard to believe because even the name is an apparent knockoff.
Ed didn’t stop there; he implied that if you think the RoboTruck looks like the Cybertruck, then you probably think all other trucks look the same. That’s pretty laughable as Ford and Chevy pickups have their own unique identity whereas the RoboTruck cribs heavily from the Cybertruck.
The company indicated that the model is currently a prototype, with their production target set for 2025. That seems overly optimistic and representatives admitted they have a lot of engineering work to do. New trucks also require a ton of money and officials wouldn’t say who is backing the company.
Things then take an odd turn as Ed says, “I don’t like it,” and requests the duo to create a video telling a colleague that showing the RoboTruck, in its current condition, was a mistake. That’s an insane thing to do as it’s essentially asking members of the press to film an ‘I told you so’ video.
Shortly after this encounter, David and Jason were approached by another man who told them to stop filming. This was obviously a ridiculous request, given that they were in a public setting at the Los Angeles Auto Show, but the duo were told that they’ve “seen enough” and they shouldn’t be “putting out negative things.” However, it’s only natural to expect criticism when presenting a half-baked prototype at a major auto show.
