When farmer Braden Smith drives his Tesla Cybertruck around Idaho Falls, Idaho, he either gets a “middle finger or thumbs up.”
“It’s crazy because I’m a really good guy,” Smith, 34, told USA TODAY.
Smith, who is also an online content creator, has gone viral for an unlikely pairing: using his shiny electric Cybertruck to tend to his family’s 2,000-acre farm full of wheat and potatoes in the country of a typical heavy farmer’s pickup truck. may usually prefer. His TikTok videos have racked up millions of views and he’s only had the vehicle since April.
“It’s been fun,” Smith said of owning the Cybertruck. “A lot of times when I talk to people, they’re very skeptical about it … you can literally hook up all day with this thing and still be OK. It’s been good for around the farm.”
Trading an F-250 for a ‘Stainless Steel Refrigerator’
Before buying the Cybertruck, Smith said he would trade in his trucks quite often. In December 2023, when Smith was planning to trade in the F-250, he received an invitation to configure a Cybertruck.
Smith said he justified the purchase because of the 50-amp style plug in the back of the Cybertruck, which he uses to power his welder and plasma compressor.
“I think if you were to define everything I wanted in a farm truck, I’d say this fits most of those wants and needs,” he said. “It was just unfortunate that it looks like a stainless steel refrigerator.”
The TikTok of cats singing Queen started Braden Smith’s virality
Smith’s initial viral TikTok post was shared in May 2021 and included a background of cats singing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The post has over 16 million views.
“It just blew up,” Smith said of the viral TikTok in 2021. “We thought it was cool, so we decided to put it away and keep creating content.”
Smith said he thought the video was “pretty silly,” but when it “got off the ground,” he began to see how profitable monetization content could be.
Braden Smith Didn’t Buy Cybertruck to ‘Go Green’
Smith, who drives the Cybertruck every day, said it gets a lot of fuel, though he didn’t really buy the vehicle to “go green” or save fuel.
“I mean everybody says it’s so great that you’re greening it and everything, and then they see my license plate says ‘Coal Fed,'” Smith said. “They start scratching their heads.”
One minor drawback Smith has with the Cybertruck is the vehicle’s towing capabilities.
While hauling things with the truck hasn’t been much of a problem for him because he lives about 40 minutes from his farm in Rexburg, he acknowledged that the vehicle may not be able to pull heavy items for more than 150 up to 200 miles.
What is Cybertruck?
Introduced by Tesla founder Elon Musk in 2019, the Cybertruck is marketed as an electric pickup truck “built for any adventure,” according to the automaker.
“Finally, the future will look like the future,” Musk said when he unveiled the Cybertruck during a demo in 2019.
However, the Cybetruck has had its pitfalls, as Tesla has issued several voluntary recalls since its launch. The automaker recalled thousands of trucks in June due to a malfunctioning windshield wiper and a trunk bed problem.
Other farmers can take the Cybertruck
Despite the minor towing problem and the confused looks from people in town, Smith said he likes the Cybertruck and the vehicle is nothing like he’s “ever driven before or had on his farm.”
“It’s really fast (and) it’s fun to drive,” he said of the Cybertruck. “I’ll be going 60 miles an hour on one of my dirt roads and it’s just sliding.”
Cyberucks could be attractive to farmers going forward, especially when Tesla comes out with more affordable and readily available models, according to Smith.
“It’s funny because you drive down the road and everybody’s like ‘a lot of money,’ and yet they’re also passing King Ranch, Denali and other high-spec trucks, but nobody bats an eye,” he said . “I think it’s entirely possible that other people will get (Cybertrucks).”