--- title: "Tesla’s Bizarre New Cybertruck Trickery Is So Shady We Can’t Believe It’s Real" description: "Tesla is selling a light bar for the Cybertruck that it can't legally install, destined to blind motorists everywhere." date: "2024-10-24" modified: "2024-10-24" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-cybertruck-light-bar" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "cybertruck" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla’s Bizarre New Cybertruck Trickery Is So Shady We Can’t Believe It’s Real ![Tesla is selling a light bar for the Cybertruck that it can't legally install, destined to blind motorists everywhere.]() *\Image: Brandon Bell via Getty\* ## Thin Technicality As if the Cybertruck wasn't enough of an [eyesore]() already, Tesla is now selling huge, obnoxious light bars to be fitted onto its pickups. There's just one small complication: these accessories are not only illegal to use on the road, but as [*Jalopnik* reports](), they're even illegal for Tesla to install. But, call it clever or call it shady, Tesla has a workaround. As tech reviewer Marques Brownlee [shared in a video]() about his experience, when he sent his Cybertruck to a Tesla dealership to get the add-on "installed," it only came back half-done. Covered in black tape, the light bar was glued onto the top of the windshield. But none of the wiring was connected, so it wasn't fully installed. Instead, Tesla gave Brownlee the phone number and address of a local shop that could finish the job. "So technically," Brownlee spells out, "Tesla didn't install the whole off-road light bar." ## Blinding Lights As anyone who lives in an area with a lot of pickup trucks and SUVs can tell you, light bars aren't uncommon accessories, even though it's illegal to use them on the streets in most states. Some states even require that they're covered up while they're not being used. Naturally, many a red-blooded truck driver chooses to ignore these rules. Rules, apparently, are for people that don't drive seven thousand pound stainless steel coffins. What's unusual, though, is for automakers to make and sell such an accessory themselves. But of course, Tesla is no ordinary automaker. The irony is that the verdict's still out on whether the Cybertruck is any good at off-roading, which is the thing you would ostensibly be buying a light bar for. The number of [hilarious]() [attempts]() of Cybertruck owners trying to and failing [would suggest that it's not]() — and so would its notoriously [poor reliability](), which evinces a [not very rugged](), let alone "[Apocalypse-proof]()," vehicle. But all in all, we suppose that Tesla selling add-ons that it can't even legally install is par for the course for the Cybertruck, which, reminder, is [outright illegal in Europe](). **More on Tesla:** *[Moron Shoots Cybertruck, Alarmed to Discover It's Not Actually Bulletproof]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()