You may have spotted one or two of the highly noticeable Tesla Cybertrucks cruising around Prince George recently.
These electric vehicles, which go for around $137,990 and up, have been the topics of conversation all over the world for better or worse.
Two local longtime Tesla supporters, Matt Petkau and Jeremy Henderson, both decided to take the plunge, with each buying one after it was unveiled close to five years ago.
“So my wife and I in 2019 I told her, look, I want a new truck or a new Escalade," Petkau explained. “She said, I'm okay with you buying a new vehicle, but it has to be a Tesla. So I said, well, here's the deal. I don't want a car. So she responded, well, if Tesla comes out with a truck, you can buy it. So I said, deal. So when it got announced, I looked at it and I was like, ah, no, I'm not ordering that. And then the next day ... I ordered it. It took me one day to get over the look of it. November of 2024 is when the first delivery started in Canada. And we were in some of the first deliveries.”
The PG Cybertruck owners are acquaintances and have shared their love of their new vehicle. Henderson said he and his family are out of the ‘internal combustion engine family’ and got the truck for its capacity to haul items and go down roads that the Tesla Model Y could not.
Both owners are extremely happy with all the features and extras, most notably the cold-rolled stainless steel, the 15 speakers and nine cameras, the front and rear storage capacity (you can run a dishwasher off the plugs in the back) and the self-driving features, which Petkau noted are extremely useful on road trips.
“It takes all the stress out of driving," said Petkau, “I had it in Edmonton for three days of Christmas. Four hours into the trip, I decided I was tired of driving and I put it on autopilot. And the only time I drove while I was in Edmonton was to pull it into parking stalls, that was it.”
Both owners have found that they are often the centre of attention from passersby and other motorists. They both have had their share of questions, pictures, and the occasional middle finger.
“When we picked it up and left Surrey from day one ... It was nonstop people bringing out their phones to take pictures or videos or asking about it," said Henderson. “Was it a kit car? Can I sit in it? What brand is it? All that kind of stuff So literally nonstop all the way home. Then, in Prince George, just driving around doing the day-to-day. Superstore, Save-on, Costco, Pine Centre Mall. It's the same kind of reaction, right? All these little questions.”
Both owners so far have no complaints about driving in Prince George and note that the trucks handle well in winter conditions.
