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My New Cybertruck Got Me Flipped Off 7 Times In One Day, 'I Felt I Needed To Go Home And Hide My Truck From The Insanity Around Me'

Is this the most hated vehicle on the road? One Cybertruck owner's firsthand account of intense Cybertruck road rage will make you question the current state of the world.
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Author: Noah Washington
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There was a time, not all that long ago, when driving something weird merely marked you as eccentric, maybe even adventurous. You were the guy with the Citroën or the DeLorean at the cruise night, and people leaned in with curiosity, not contempt.

These days, roll through your hometown in a Tesla Cybertruck and you’re liable to get a middle finger from a minivan and a death stare from a Corolla. We’ve gone from the age of automotive admiration to one of ideological warfare, and the stainless steel wedge from Austin is the front line.

Why the Tesla Cybertruck’s Sparks Unprecedented Road Rage

The Cybertruck was never going to be subtle. From its vaporwave silhouette to its unapologetically unpainted body, it's the vehicular equivalent of wearing mirrored sunglasses indoors. But somewhere between Elon Musk’s Twitter escapades and the truck’s final production reality, public discourse took a turn off a cliff. What once was a conversation about design and innovation has devolved into road rage, online harassment, and genuine concern from owners like Zak Auten, who took to Facebook to recount what should have been a celebratory moment: 

“Question for the group, I picked up my new CyberBeast yesterday after purchasing and having it wrapped and tinted. Never driven my truck since purchase, and as I get into the town I live in, I get flicked off 7 times and road raged twice. Really took the wind out of my sails, the excitement, and how much I love this truck.

A person shares their experience of driving their new 2025 Tesla CyberTruck, facing road rage and excitement in their first outing.

Anyone else deal with this on a regular basis? I knew there would be some, but going through town on a few-mile stretch to get home this many times was mind-blowing. I felt I needed to go home and hide my truck from the insanity around me.” 

How the ‘Tesla Effect’ Turns Cybertruck Owners into Political Punching Bags

  • Across the U.S. and internationally, Tesla vehicles and facilities have been subjected to acts of vandalism, including spray-painted swastikas, slashed tires, and Molotov cocktail attacks. These incidents often carry anti-Musk or anti-Trump messages.
  • The website DogeQuest emerged as a platform publishing personal information of Tesla owners, including names and addresses, under the guise of a protest against Musk's leadership. This doxing has raised serious privacy concerns and fears of targeted harassment among Tesla owners, some of whom have reported receiving threats or hate mail at their homes. 
  • Individual Tesla owners have reported direct harassment. In Worcester, Massachusetts, the owner of a gold Tesla Cybertruck received a profane sticker on his vehicle and faced online abuse after sharing the incident. In Santa Barbara, California, a Tesla investor received hate mail at her residence, which she reported to the FBI.

Auten’s experience, raw and unfiltered, wasn’t some isolated case of bad timing or an unusually aggressive commute. It reflects a broader social phenomenon, where the Cybertruck has become a lightning rod for cultural anxiety.

Seven middle fingers. Two road rage incidents. And this wasn’t Los Angeles at rush hour, it was a few miles of suburban America. The truck didn't honk, cut anyone off, or roll coal, it merely existed. And that was enough.

The Global Backlash Against Cybertruck Owners

Part of the venom can be chalked up to the Tesla Effect: a brand as polarizing as its founder. Elon Musk has, for better or worse, turned every Tesla product into a stand-in for larger debates about wealth, tech, politics, and environmentalism. The Cybertruck, with its video game profile and moon-crater price tag, became an easy effigy.

But blaming Musk alone misses the deeper issue: we’ve turned car enthusiasm into tribal warfare. This isn’t just Mustang vs. Camaro. This is contempt at the cellular level.

A 2025 Tesla Cybertruck displays its metallic exterior and unique tire design in a modern showroom with snowy mountains in the background.

Even within the Cybertruck community, there's a tension between celebration and defensiveness. Howard Butler, another owner, offered Auten words of calm: 

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“I’ve had my truck since February. I got flipped off once, but I get way more thumbs up. Don’t let someone influence how u feel about your purchasing decision.”

It’s good advice, the kind of perspective that belonged to an older, more civilized form of car culture.

But it also points to the necessity of reassurance in a space that used to be about joy and engineering, not self-preservation and social backlash.

The Problem With Teslas

The problem extends well beyond Facebook groups. In a piece by 404 Media, a Cybertruck was pelted with American cheese slices, a bizarre act of protest that quickly escalated into attempts to dox the offender. Elsewhere, on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum, users debate the vehicle’s safety, sometimes earnestly, sometimes weaponized as talking points to justify the growing hostility. 

Tesla Cybertruck Cyberbeast Specifications 

  • The top-tier "Cyberbeast" trim, featuring a tri-motor all-wheel-drive setup, accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds, placing it among the fastest production trucks available. 
  • Both the dual-motor and tri-motor variants offer a maximum towing capacity of 11,000 pounds, making the Cybertruck suitable for heavy-duty tasks like hauling trailers or boats. 
  • The dual-motor all-wheel-drive model provides an estimated range of 325 miles on a full charge, while the tri-motor "Cyberbeast" offers approximately 301 miles, ensuring ample distance coverage for various driving needs.

What we’re seeing is a breakdown of civility in the public square, where what you drive can now invite ridicule, harassment, or worse.

It’s one thing to critique the Cybertruck’s aesthetics or the company’s quality control (both fair game). It’s another to create an environment where owners feel unsafe or unwelcome.

We've replaced car spotting with car shaming, and the result is a culture that punishes enthusiasm and curiosity.

A 2025 Tesla Cybertruck parked in a foggy landscape at sunset, with dramatic clouds and mountain silhouettes in the background.

Make no mistake, the Cybertruck is a ridiculous machine.

It’s absurd, overengineered, and at times laughably impractical. But so was the Countach. So was the Hummer.

So was the Dodge Daytona. And all of them helped define their era. Whether the Cybertruck ends up as a historic game-changer or a stainless-steel misfire remains to be seen.

But if we can't share the road with it, or with the people who drive it, then the problem isn’t the truck. It’s us.

Have you witnessed this kind of backlash firsthand, or is the Cybertruck getting a raw deal?

Noah Washington is an automotive journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys covering the latest news in the automotive industry and conducting reviews on the latest cars. He has been in the automotive industry since 15 years old and has been featured in prominent automotive news sites. You can reach him on X and LinkedIn for tips and to follow his automotive coverage.

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Comments

Jeff (not verified)    May 17, 2025 - 2:11PM

Road rage is never cool, and I don't flip other drivers off, unless they've done something egregiously dumb. That being said, I cannot see a Cybertruck in the wild without pointing and laughing at it.


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Fred (not verified)    May 17, 2025 - 3:15PM

😵‍💫 Wow, ok. So people aren't mad simply because the truck is "weird" or they don't like Elon Musk. The man is a Nazi sympathizer, possibly even a direct benefactor.

When he proudly performed the Nazi salute twice on national television, new purchases of Tesla vehicles bought after that date were only purchased by people who either support Elon's ideology (fascism) wholeheartedly, or are downplaying it as a "roman salute" (which it clearly isn't) and supporting it anyways. People are also pissed about DOGE screwing with government institutions and subverting Congress (and the Constitution) while also gaining access to ALL American's personal data and giving it to teenagers called Big Balls etc.

This article downplays the severity of Musk's actions while also dismissing people rightfully angry about this as "the problem".

I get it. Car people love cars. The Cybertruck is a big purchase, and a fancy toy. But when I see a Cybertruck or Model 3/Y refresh driving down the road, I know that person saw Elon do the salute, then proceeded to choose their new toy over Democracy.

Cyberstuck (not verified)    May 17, 2025 - 6:14PM

"But if we can't share the road with it, or with the people who drive it, then the problem isn’t the truck. It’s us."

And you call yourself a journalist. The thing's a 3 ton death trap. The battery gets a drop of water on it and it becomes a second sun. This garbage shouldn't be allowed on the road in the first place.

Cal Lawrence (not verified)    May 17, 2025 - 7:40PM

Remains to be seen? The Cybertruck is already the biggest flop since the Edsel. It's not just ridiculous, it's not just impractical, it's also a flat-out terrible vehicle.

Corey Jedi (not verified)    May 17, 2025 - 9:19PM

You completely skipped the part where Musk tied his brand to his name and face, without even being a founding member, literally buying the company from the creators and muscling them out. Then taking over the federal government to dismantle any over sight of any of his works. But sure civility on the roads that's where we need to draw the line....

Arr Dee (not verified)    May 17, 2025 - 9:32PM

Well that’s going to happen when you drive a Tesla nowadays with so much hate for Musk.
It’s unfortunate but it’s happening and I personally wouldn’t want to drive with a target on my back with so many lunatics out there.

Nullifiedhumanoid (not verified)    May 17, 2025 - 10:23PM

Seems a little tone deaf and naive to buy one of these in the current world political and economic climate and wonder why you're drawing hate. It's not like it's worth anything as a truck, which means you bought it as a status symbol, and it's who you're aligning yourself with that is getting you flipped off, not the poser you're driving.

EseTheBillionaire (not verified)    May 18, 2025 - 2:48AM

I know the author is an automotive writer, but none of what you are seeing is about the car, or car culture, t Is not even about the car brand. It is about the person that represents the brand and what his values represent.

Let's not make it any deeper than it is.

Derek Washington (not verified)    May 18, 2025 - 8:28AM

Oh brother. The writer def has a boner for Elon. Let's start with the towing. It can't. It's falling apart brand new. Brand new and it has cheap glued on pieces falling off. It's a horrible vehicle. Speaking of horrible. This is the baby of Elon. He's a nazi who's destroyed millions of american lives thru doge. He brought racism to twitter. And encourages the fascist trump regime. If you parade around in public in a cybertruck and can't handle the backlash that's on your boy Elon.

Matthew (not verified)    May 18, 2025 - 8:35AM

Cyber trucks and other Tesla models are being frowned upon. Not because of what they are but who invented them and what he supports. I will never support someone with so much hatred and racism. This country would be better off with Adolf Hitler rather than trump and musk. It's a total shit show in America and taking them out would be the best thing for America.

Joe (not verified)    May 18, 2025 - 11:46AM

You bought a vehicle when the main representative is helping destroy the United States government. Cut cost in places he doesn't understand and did two Nazi salutes on National TV. What did you expect was going to happen when you supported this person?

Tom (not verified)    May 18, 2025 - 2:47PM

Liberals are nothing but little crybabies that pick on people and trucks just because it doesn’t fit their woke agenda. I say flip the bird right back at them and then point and laugh at whatever car they are driving! Americans need to stand up for one another. Liberals have a problem with America first?

Jstack (not verified)    May 18, 2025 - 9:25PM

No, Noah, people aren't doing all these things because of a culture that punishes enthusiasm and curiosity. You sound like you could work for Karoline Leavitt. In that , rather than saying the hatred towards Musk dismantling agency after agency, ruining lives and careers to fulfill Trumps inherent racism and fascism, you claim this culture punishes enthusiasm. You buy a Cybertruck, especially this guy, who fully knew (as it was just this month) the vitriol pointed towards Cyber trucks and the Trump administration. If you have the money to have a showcar - and make no mistake - nobody is buying it for its towing capacity - Its to show off that you have this extremely obvious symbol of the Trump administration. If you don't know that, you deserve what you get for just having more money than brains

First Name (not verified)    May 18, 2025 - 11:32PM

It has nothing to do with the Cybertuck being what it is. It's because Elon Musk is an actual Nazi, and owning a Tesla makes you appear to support that, whether it's true or not.

Noah (not verified)    May 19, 2025 - 5:07PM

What are you confused about people don't like Nazis and they don't like people f****** with money they've worked for.

If I continue to support a brand who's clearly linked to both it should not be a surprise that people are enthusiastic about the products that he sells anymore.

It's one thing if you want to be a low-key piece of s*** but it's an entirely different thing to pretend like you have no idea why the feedback is what it is like just own it and stop playing dumb about it.
You do not get to help somebody continue to profit and be successful when their ideology continues to hurt people on such a big level and then pretend to be the victim about it your support equals your agreement with the person with the company with the brand.
This is not like a temporary thing he will always be linked to Tesla as the face of Tesla people are over it.

Em dee (not verified)    May 19, 2025 - 9:21PM

Wow, I think part of my article got cutoff, cuz I didn't read anything about Nazi salutes, white genocide propaganda, widespread labour law violations, union busting, support of a far-right German Nazi party, child abuse, his weird obsession with breeding strangers, or his systematic destruction of social services in the US... Maybe it will be in the next article.

Cameron (not verified)    May 19, 2025 - 10:45PM

Anyone who thinks a Cyber"truck" is a real truck needs to have a test done for having a brain tumor. If you want a real truck, get a REAL truck, NOT a Cyber"truck". I feel this was deserved. If my kid EVER tells me they want a Tesla of ANY kind, Especially the Cyber"truck" I am disowning them on the spot.