Few vehicles can elicit immediate and impassioned responses like the Tesla Cybertruck. I mean, it may as well be the picture that pops up when you Google the word “polarizing.” But regardless of what you think of it, the CyberTruck is a contender in America’s competitive pickup truck market and we recently got our hands on one for a First Drive.

This Cybertruck was generously loaned to us by a friend of the show. While this satin black wrap hides the headline-grabbing stainless steel finish, there’s no mistaking the shape for any other pickup. This is exactly what we saw when the Cybertruck was revealed back in 2019…sans broken windows.

Comparing it to a Ford F-150 Lightning, the Cybertruck is nearly 10-inches shorter and inch narrower with mirrors extended. The bed is 6-feet long by 4-feet wide and comes with a powered tonneau cover. It can handle a payload of up to 2,500 pounds with towing capacity said to be as much as 11,000 pounds.

This Cybertruck is a Foundation Series, so naturally there are special badges. But, the owner took it a step further, however, by opting for the tri-motor powertrain dubbed “Cyberbeast.” Using one motor to drive the front wheels and one for each rear wheel, the three motors combine for 845 horsepower and 864 lb.-ft of torque. That’s enough to get all 6,800 pounds of Cyberbeast to 60 in about 2 and a half seconds.

For something with that much thrust, you might expect the cockpit to look like Maverick and Goose’s F14. But that’s a Negative, Ghostrider, because beyond the steering yoke and large tablet screen, there’s not much in the way of switchgear. Although, like modern jets, the Cybertruck is 100% steer-by-wire.

And we steered it toward some of our favorite roads.

“Driving around in this Cybertruck. There’s a lot to get used to, to say the least. Starting with the steering, this yoke style steering wheel, there’s just a lot of response with just subtle moves of the wheel here. So if you are moving at low speeds, it is definitely a learning curve. But out here on the open road, you barely notice it at all. I mean, all you feel is just I mean, normal steering motions.

The suspension feels really comfortable. I’m very happy with the ride and handling in terms of other comfort, i.e. sound. There is some sound coming through and I’m talking about electric motor noises. I mean, getting on it there. You hear a lot of it and personally I don’t mind that so much.

However, the other noises that I’m hearing, mostly wind noise coming into the front as the speeds pick up a little bit. I’m definitely getting a lot.

Let’s find my way to the drive modes. Right now I am in comfort mode, so that is the most relaxed setting. But this is a Cyberbeast, so let’s put it in Beast Mode.

Yep. Oh yeah. That, that is beastly. That is, a lot of torque.

Look, man, I’m just going to throw it out there. Don’t shoot the messenger. The Tesla Cybertruck is not as bad as you, the person who hates Tesla and Cybertrucks thinks it is. There’s a lot to like here. It’s a really comfortable, smooth ride. It’s obviously very fast. There’s a lot of cool tech features.

At the same time. It’s not as good as you, the person who loves Tesla and everything they do, thinks it is because there is a lot to iron out. There’s that noise which I talked about some of the features are just kind of like just really don’t fit into daily driving use. All that to say, the Cybertruck, everything about this truck, the looks, the ethos behind the company and the way it drives. It’s not for everybody. Don’t feel bad if you love it. Don’t feel bad if you hate it.”

Juxtaposed with essentially everything else about this Cybertruck and its 123 kWh battery, its 301 miles of range does not stand out. But, it does have Tesla’s vast supercharger network at its disposal. And let’s be real, that advantage is the least polarizing thing about the Cybertruck.

Make sure to keep it locked on MotorWeek for our full Road Test on the Tesla Cybertruck coming soon!