The US Forest Service Burned Tesla So Good, Smokey the Bear Had to up the Fire Warning
I previously covered the now-viral video of a Tesla Cybertruck prototype rescued by a Ford Super Duty while hauling a Christmas tree out of a National Forest. Since then, the Ford CEO has tweeted back at Tesla. And then the supervisor of the National Forest weighed in!
Many off-roaders, especially Ford fans, were especially giddy that the Cybertruck struggled to off-road in the snow. Cybertruck fans retweeted a witness’ report that the prototype’s software wasn’t up to date, it didn’t have winter tires, and the tires it did have were over-inflated.
Then Jim Farley, Ford’s CEO, waded into the internet war:
His response was very diplomatic. The folks at the Morning Brew said, “holiday came early for Ford execs,” but Farley was quick to say, “Glad a Ford owner was there to help.” He commented on his own repost: “If you spend enough time on trails, it happens to everyone at some point.” Perhaps as the head of the company, he can’t be seen badmouthing Tesla. Or perhaps he is genuinely cheering for the Cybertruck’s drivers.
Another high-profile individual weighed in next. National Forest Supervisor Jason Kuiken oversees the Stanislaus National Forest–and thus the Corral Hollow OHV trails where the incident occurred. Kuiken obviously had to be slightly diplomatic. But his tone was nowhere nearly as diplomatic as Farley’s. He was very comfortable criticizing the Cybertruck prototype testers’ know-how:
“We feel confident that had the driver of the Cybertruck had a better understanding of the topographical feature indicated on our maps, practiced Leave No Trace principles, and generally been more prepared, this whole incident could have been not only avoided, but also provided much-needed education to many new off-road users.”
Jason Kuiken, National Forest Supervisor
I have to agree with Kuiken here. Tesla’s Cybertruck test engineers don’t need to be off-road experts. But they did damage to the terrain and held up other off-roaders needlessly. Luckily, Kuiken continued and offered to partner with Tesla to offer training courses. And though I doubt Tesla will take him up on the offer, it honestly sounds like a win/win.
