She Actually Did It! Tesla Model 3 turned Pickup Truck

What do you do when you want an electric pickup, but Rivian and Tesla are taking too long? You make your own, of course.

This resourceful lady was tired of waiting, so she decided to turn her Tesla Model 3 from people hauler to cargo carrier. And it’s not a bad-looking one to boot.

Simone Giertz is a professional Youtuber and tech enthusiast currently based in San Francisco. She also happens to be an inventor and robotics tinkerer, and even partnered with Adam Savage for a TV show at one point. This background is probably why the finished truck looks like a factory-stock model from Tesla, instead of a shoddy hackjob from a barn in Alabama.

For this project, Giertz partnered with EV builder Rich Rebuilds and car mechanic Marcos Ramirez for the electric and mechanical bits. The body was penned by designer and fellow Youtuber Laura Kampf, who designed a low ute-style shell reminiscent of Aussie trucks.

The first thing they tackled was the frame, literally Sawzalling the hell out of the back roof and rear passenger compartment. The original plan was to just saw the car in half and mate it to a flatbed, but Giertz wanted to preserve more of the back half. So the team hollowed out the back, adapting the cargo bed to fit the inside the rear quarter panels. The resulting body looked less like a traditional pickup and more of a ute, something along the lines of the Chevy El Camino and Ford Ranchero.

To reinforce the chopped frame, the back was fitted with metal support beams that also doubles as a roof rack. A modified rear hatch makes up the tailgate, while Hella floodlights are fitted up top of the Tesleut.

https://www.instagram.com/p/By22oZFBmYI/

To top it all off, they even hired a production company to produce a fake commercial of the finished product:

The whole project took about a year of planning, with the actual build part taking three weeks. While the truck is currently driveable, there’s still some work to be done in terms of waterproofing, suspension, and minor fit and finish details. They also plan to give it a lift and new paint job.

The name of the end result? Giertz calls it the “Truckla”. But with a slick body like that, we prefer to think of it as the e-Camino.

Your turn, Elon.