In a bid to make his Tesla Cybertruck stand out even more on the road, owner Tyson Garvin machine-polished his pickup’s stainless steel “exoskeleton” to a mirrored finish, a process that required an entire team a whole week to complete.
It’s hard to decide whether to be impressed or horrified by the potential accidents this mirror on wheels could cause.
“When we ordered it on Tesla’s announcement day, I knew I was going to polish it that day,” Garvin told Business Insider. He addressed a common complaint among Cybertruck owners: the poor condition in which the truck arrives. “I didn’t like it when I first got it,” he recalled. “It was actually very dirty when I picked it up. It was a very bad delivery experience. And just the look of it — the dull stainless steel isn’t evenly brushed.”
Other owners have encountered unconventional issues with the truck’s unique materials, including rust and an owner’s manual that advises against washing its surface in full sunlight.
In short, there’s a reason carmakers don’t use stainless steel for exteriors. Combine the rolled and carefully bent metal with Tesla’s historically poor quality assurance, and you get the Cybertruck, an up to $100,000 vehicle with some glaring fit and finish issues.
Garvin, known as “The Polishing Guy,” decided to take matters into his own hands. Alongside three other team members, he polished his entire pickup, a job that took roughly a week and 120 hours of work, according to Business Insider. “It doesn’t have all the porous stainless steel that holds all the oil from your fingerprints,” he explained. “The more you clean it, the shinier it gets.” Fortunately, the tailgate points slightly downward, preventing headlights from following vehicles from being perfectly reflected.
Despite this, sharing the road with a perfectly reflective car, especially one of this size, could pose a serious safety hazard. The Cybertruck has already been criticized for being a pedestrian death trap on wheels.
“Looks cool, but will surely annoy and blind all the other drivers on the road!” one Reddit user pointed out.
“Is this legal?” another user wondered. “Seems extremely unsafe, essentially driving around with mirrors on your car.”