Poor Maine Cybertruck Owner Laments All the Attention He's Getting for His Truck

Tesla started limited deliveries of the Cybertruck four years after the official introduction of the electric truck, and the buzz around it hasn't dwindled a fraction since. Regardless of how it was described by Elon Musk during that official presentation or in later interviews, the Cybertruck remains, without a doubt, a love-it or hate-it-kind of vehicle, with no middle ground.

Recent weeks have also brought increased attention to issues regarding quality control, something that Tesla has struggled with before. But it's always the angular design of the Cybertruck, unlike anything else you'll find on the market right now, that keeps generating the most polarizing reactions.

That design was also the Cybertruck's main selling point, if you'll recall the launch of November 2019. Musk was saying at the time that he wanted a cyberpunk-like design, something that wouldn't look amiss in a post-apocalyptic society, a truck that could haul cargo on all terrains without issues, which would be bulletproof and tough as a tank, but comfy and minimalist inside the cabin.

The Cybertruck was, from the get-go, designed to elicit attention – and to keep it all on itself for as long as it stayed in one place. It was most likely also designed to be a sort of status symbol, which is what it's become as Founders Edition units made their way to the first customers.

An introvert's dilemma

With that in mind, here's one of the two Cybertruck owners in Maine complaining about the increased attention he's been getting since delivery. Travis Carter, owner of a medical marijuana dispensary in Portland, Maine, has been talking to the local media about the confusing reactions he keeps getting for his e-truck.

Carter says that most people take out their phones to film him when he's driving by, sometimes even at the cost of their personal safety. He occasionally gets waves and thumbs up, but the majority of reactions have been negative: people are flipping the bird at him at intersections, and his truck has been scratched and spat at.

Carter has also become the talk of town in the most literal sense after his Cybertruck became a viral topic of conversation on Portland subreddits. He swears he didn't buy the vehicle to get attention, describing himself as "shy" and an "introvert." In fact, he says he "forgot" about his reservation until just recently, when Tesla contacted him to tell him he could complete the purchase on an early example.

"I don’t like attention. It wasn't an attention-seeking move," Carter explains in one interview. "People have taken my picture so much. I’m shy, so it has been a weird experience, where you pull up to a red light and every single person stares at you."

He admits that having his Cybertruck parked outside his dispensary did bring many new customers, which would be the proverbial glass-half-full side of the story. He's since added a magnetic decal to the truck, advertising for the dispensary. Might as well make lemonade out of the whole thing, right?

A grain of salt to go with the lemonade

This might seem like a disheartening story of the kind of divisiveness that's tearing modern society apart, but do take a grain of salt with Carter's lemonade story. It sounds unbelievable that a grown adult would see the Cybertruck on stage with Elon Musk and not realize the kind of attention it would generate in real life, both good and bad.

Then, there's this: "He knew the truck would be an eye-catcher in Maine. But he wanted it for its uniqueness," the publication he spoke to writes. Carter himself chimes in: "It's so ugly it's cute. It's like a French bulldog. I don't think it's the most attractive car in the world, but it's different. And I like to be different."

In the end, though, can you really blame a guy for trying to get the most attention he can for his business? Not really, no – unless, as seems to be the case here, he's lying about one thing or the other.

The Cybertruck hate is real

Carter's now-viral story aside, this is very clear confirmation that the Cybertruck hate is very real. Not that any more confirmation was needed, but still.

The other Maine Cybertruck, which also seems to have been turned into a promotional vehicle thanks to a large magnetic decal on the rear panel, is also being blasted on Portland subreddits. Most commenters agree either that the design is "too ugly" to exist in real life or that purchasing it means backing Musk and all his controversial stances on a variety of topics.

The consensus seems to be that whoever buys a car like this is either blind, an immature kid trying to show off, or plain stupid. Not that being aggressive towards an inanimate object that's someone else's personal property is proof of a higher IQ, mind you.

If controversy and divisiveness are a barometer for success, the Tesla Cybertruck is it.