The Man Who Caught The Attention of Elon Musk With A Wooden Cybertruck

The electric car revolution is here, and has one man at the helm of it. Elon Musk, the owner and CEO of Tesla, is known for being a pioneer in the technology and engineering space. He has pushed the development of electric cars in Tesla, and one man went to extraordinary lengths to capture Musk’s internet attention.

An Ambitious Youtuber

A Youtuber who posts under the handle of ND Woodworking Art has become somewhat of a name in the wooden car making game. While this might seem like a small niche, there’s a growing audience of car and woodworking enthusiasts who enjoy seeing other take on these ambitious projects.

In the past, ND has accomplished such projects as building his son a wooden Ferrari GTO 250, and a functional tank. Recently, though, he’s undertaken his most ambitious project yet, setting out to build a wooden version of the Cybertruck.

A Unique Challenge

The Tesla Cybertruck is a battery electric pickup truck that’s been built by Tesla since 2023. It was introduced as a concept vehicle in 2019, and has a triangular body design with flat sheet metal panels making up the body.

The idea of making a working vehicle out of wood is nothing new, and a task that ND had accomplished on his channel in the past. The Cybertruck’s unique body design made this particularly interesting challenge, though, and his followers were eager to see the process from start to finish on the streaming platform.

Everything Was Done By Hand

ND started the process of building the wooden Cybertruck by personally welding a metal chassis for the frame of the car. He then went on to use wood to construct the rest of the car, including the body, the steering wheel, and even the seats.

He did go on to add a few “modern” extras at the end, to give it the true Cybertruck feel. These extras included LED headlights, a display screen, and the infamous enormous wiper that cleans the front windshield of the cybertruck. The truckbed also had a functioning ramp that was varnished in a darker color to distinguish it from the rest of the truck.

A Three-Month Process

ND documented the process of building the truck extensively, to the delight of his audience. Altogether, the process took 100 days and cost him approximately $15,000, and he took on the project before the real Tesla Cybertruck even had a formal release date.

ND is not the only person who jumped the gun on creating Cybertruck lookalikes for the pleasure of the internet, though. Another individual created a Cybertruck-inspired golf cart, simply for fun! ND had a different goal in mind during the build of his wooden Cybertruck, though, beyond the delight and accolades of his internet audience.

Seeking the Attention of Elon Musk

No, beyond the fame of the internet, ND also sought to capture the attention of Elon Musk himself. Elon Musk has been known to be perpetually online in the days since he acquired Twitter, now X, and ND wanted to catch the attention of the aloof and brilliant billionaire.

He posted on Twitter/X with photos of the wooden Cybertruck, which he had branded with the new “X” logo that the company has unveiled. His post stated that the real Cybertruck might have its problems and its delays, but that he had unwavering faith in Tesla to bring the concept to fruition, and that he hoped to one day gift his wooden Cybertruck to Musk as a show of support.

Elon Musk Responded!

When reaching out to celebrities and billionaires on the internet, it’s always a slim chance that they’ll see the notification at all, let alone respond. ND was surprised and delighted, though, that his tweet to Elon Musk actually generated a response!

Musk was short and sweet in his reply to ND, stating, “Sure, much appreciated.” While this likely isn’t the enthusiastic accolades that ND was looking for regarding his build, it’s still a great story to be able to attach to his Youtube videos about the build.

ND’s Audience Was Blown Away

Commenters on the Youtube video of the build were much more enthusiastic about ND and his progress in wooden engineering. Many of them praised the ingenuity of his build, and even went so far as to say that the wooden Cybertruck was going to give the real Cybertruck a run for its money.

Another individual stated that the wooden Cybertruck was a great idea for a do-it-yourself project. He claimed that “if this was sold as an entire puzzle” he would buy it. Miniature wooden models are a booming industry, so who’s to say that there’s not the possibility of megamodels becoming a thing too?

A Hot Button Topic

Whether or not the wooden Cybertruck is going to be sent to Tesla HQ remains to be seen, but it’s a wonderful story for ND and his family. The build has inspired many others who might be interested in woodworking, though the idea of building a fully functional wooden car might be beyond most people’s capabilities.

While the fate of the real Cybertruck is up for debate, project like ND’s keep the interest alive. Electric cars and green technology are a hot button topic, and with world governments seeking the reduce greenhouse emissions, it’s unlikely that the conversation around Elon Musk, Tesla, and the Cybertruck are going to be going anywhere, anytime soon.