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Is Elon Musk Driving a Non-Street Legal Cybertruck Around Los Angeles?

Tesla has made a habit of advertising its products not through the usual channels, but by enlisting the help of customers, fans, and even enemies. Word-of-mouth advertising they call it, and it’s worked great so far for the most successful EV maker in the business.
Elon Musk behind the wheel of the Cybertruck 7 photos
Photo: Backgrid/TMZ
The Tesla Cybertruck spotted in Malibu, with Elon Musk at the wheelThe Tesla Cybertruck spotted in Malibu, with Elon Musk at the wheelThe Tesla Cybertruck spotted in Malibu, with Elon Musk at the wheelThe Tesla Cybertruck spotted in Malibu, with Elon Musk at the wheelThe Tesla Cybertruck spotted in Malibu, with Elon Musk at the wheelThe Tesla Cybertruck spotted in Malibu, with Elon Musk at the wheel
The company’s mastermind, Elon Musk, is one of the biggest promoters of Tesla products (duh!) but so far, despite the flood of tweets he’s responsible for, he stayed generally clear of directly reviewing his own cars. After all, how many times have you seen the billionaire behind the wheel of one of his cars?

Well, at least once, this past weekend. Paparazzi caught the man driving the recently unveiled Cybertruck to restaurant Nobu in Malibu, California. For maximum effect, he was accompanied by a bunch of friends, and once he got at the destination, the car was not taken to the parking lot, but left in front of the restaurant for all to admire.

For what is worth, this is perhaps the best publicity stunt pulled by Musk yet, one that will surely bump the appeal of the incredibly unconventional Cybertruck even further. After all, some 250,000 people have already paid $100 to reserve one.

Musk’s outing with the Cybertruck is not the first instance we get to see it on public roads, but it is the first time its use is confirmed to have been for fun, and not for testing,

We know the truck, as shown and driven by Musk, is just a prototype, one that will suffer some changes in the near future. And this raises the question: is it street legal?

The rules of engagement when it comes to prototype testing vary from place to place, but generally the cars tested on public roads must be equipped with a minimum of hardware required by law. That includes everything from airbags to the positioning of the headlights.

For instance, the Cybertruck driven by Musk lacks exterior mirrors, and try as we might, we couldn’t find any trace of cameras in their place either. Also, there are no windscreen wipers, and we are not entirely sure the light bar connecting the two side headlamps is legal either.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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