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A YouTuber said a sponsor bowed out of participating in one of his videos about the Cybertruck over concerns about being associated with the vehicle.
Tech influencer Zack Nelson has been making YouTube videos for about 14 years — and the Cybertruck has become a "fairly important" part of his business, he told Business Insider.
After driving 13,000 miles with it, Nelson made a review video of the Cybertruck as a work truck and shared three things he loves and hates about the truck.
He praised aspects like its bullet-resistant exterior, steer-by-wire driving system, and eye-catching design.
However, after incorporating a sponsored ad read and sending a preview of the video to the brand, Nelson said he got word that the brand didn't want to be featured in Cybertruck content.
"'We would rather not be featured alongside Cybertruck content at this time,'" Nelson said in the video in a characterization of the brand's response. Business Insider verified that the brand sent an email declining to participate in the video that cited its concern about being associated with any Cybertruck content.
The brand's response was understandable, Nelson said in his video review, and "speaks volumes to the polarization of the Cybertruck." Nelson told BI that the brand said it had previously had negative experiences related to being associated with Cybertruck content. The company was interested in working with the YouTuber on other videos in the future, he added.
Nelson said in his Cybertruck review video that when Elon Musk writes controversial posts on X, like offering to impregnate Taylor Swift or asking why no one assassinated Kamala Harris, it can also impact the YouTuber's business.
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In addition to his YouTube channel, Nelson has a wheelchair manufacturing company that he funds with revenue from his YouTube channel. That company uses four vehicles, each carrying a logo on the side.
"Those kinds of statements are not normal, and at the moment, with my business slapped on the side, it looks like I support those kinds of takes — which I most definitely do not," Nelson told his audience in the video.
Nelson told BI that "it's not just those two comments" from Musk that he highlighted in his video. It's also that Musk has been increasingly political and it's difficult to "separate his very unique creation from his very unique political stance."
Nelson told BI that he's happy to make YouTube videos about "controversial stuff all day long." However, he wants to protect his wheelchair business, which he started about five years ago.
"I have the YouTube side of things, where any exposure is good exposure," Nelson said. "But then I have the wheelchair side of things where negative exposure does hurt the business."
Nelson told BI that he owns every other Tesla model and had never received negative reactions toward the non-Cybertruck vehicles. While driving the electric pickup, however, he said he's encountered instances of truck drivers "rolling coal" on him, which is when someone pulls up beside him, hits their accelerator, and covers the vehicle in a cloud of black smoke.
Other Cybertruck drivers previously told BI they experienced similarly negative interactions while driving the vehicle, including getting flipped off. Some also reported getting cut off on the road or cursed at.
Nelson is now considering selling his Cybertruck and replacing it with a 2025 Silverado EV or a Rivian. Nelson told BI the "the polarization factor is a really big deal, but it's not like the whole deal." In the video, he also mentioned poor visibility in weather as a primary complaint. Nelson lives in Utah where snow is common, and he said it can "accumulate" on the headlight. He also said the headlight can shine directly onto snowflakes as they fall creating a "Star Wars warp speed effect."
The Cybertruck has sold well since its launch, becoming something of a status symbol for celebrities.
Auto-industry tracker Cox Automotive estimates Tesla sold 17,000 of the electric pickup in the third quarter, making it the third-best selling electric vehicle in the US — behind only the Model 3 and Y.
