--- title: "Tesla Competitor Slams Cybertruck For Looking “Like a Doorstep”" description: "Read about how the CEO of Tesla's competitor Nikola threw shade at Elon Musk and his new cybertruck, claiming it looked like a doorstep." date: "2020-08-05" modified: "2020-08-11" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nikola-tesla-slams-cybertruck-doorstop" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "cybertruck" - "elon musk" - "nikola" - "Nikola Motor Company" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla Competitor Slams Cybertruck For Looking “Like a Doorstep” ![CEO of Tesla competitor and truck maker Nikola Mark Russell recently took aim at Elon Musk's passion project, the Cybertruck — and he didn't mince words.]() *\Image: Tesla/Victor Tangermann\* ## One Expensive Doorstep Mark Russell, the CEO of electric truck maker Nikola Motor Company, recently took aim at Elon Musk's passion project, [the Cybertruck]() — and he didn't mince words about his most prominent competitor. "A lot of people didn’t like the look of the Cybertruck, including me," Russell [told *CNBC*]() in a recent interview. "I think it looks like a doorstop, but they got lots of reservations for it, so more power to them." Oh, the shade! But credit where credit is due: Russell also revealed that his company was inspired by the Cybertruck to build its pickup truck competitor, [the Badger](). "A year ago we didn’t believe we would be building a pickup truck," he told *CNBC*. "We had built several off-road vehicle prototypes and had a concept for a pickup truck. We didn’t intend to do anything with it until we saw the Cybertruck. ## The Badger Nikola recently [started taking reservations]() for the Badger, an electric pickup that can come with an optional hydrogen fuel cell for an extended range. Nikola has risen to become a worthy competitor in recent months, at least in the eyes of investors. Share values for the Tesla competitor [surged]() in June following a reverse merger, making it more valuable than both Ford and Fiat-Chrysler. ## "Staggeringly Dumb" Musk has been a vocal critic of hydrogen fuel cell technology in the past, striking up [a feud between the two CEOs](). "Fuel cells = fool sells," Musk [tweeted]() in June, mocking the carbon neutral fuel concept, adding that it's "staggeringly dumb." The Cybertruck's design was [extremely divisive]() after it was [first unveiled in November]() — and that's not lost on Musk. "If it turns out nobody wants to buy a weird-looking truck, we’ll build a normal truck, no problem," Musk said on the "Daily Drive Podcast," as [reported by *Teslarati*]() on Monday. **READ MORE:** [Tesla Cybertruck gets shade from Nikola CEO: ‘I think it looks like a doorstop’]() \[*Teslarati*\] **More on the feud:** *[A Brief History of Elon Musk’s Festering Feud With Rival Automaker Nikola]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()