Anyone old enough to remember when the militaristic Hummer was first made available for public consumption knows that Beverly Hills was almost instantly filled with glamorized examples of the thing — not for its capability or off-road chops, but for its sheer presence and over-the-topiary street cred.
This manufactured cool factor isn’t unique to vehicles, of course – witness bizarre trends like $600 T-shirts – but often marks an outsized influence on pop culture thanks to cars’ visibility. This time around, it’s the striking-but-flawedTesla Cybertruck that’s presently a darling of the moneyed set in L.A. (and around the world), joining the ranks of Mercedes-Benz G-Wagens and Cadillac Escalades as the chic, new brutish machines prowling the streets of SoCal.
We could write an entire master’s thesis on why huge and blocky vehicles are generally part of this phenomenon (you can bet the bluff all-electric Escalade IQ will receive similar attention when it goes on sale) but we’ll leave that to society’s scholars. For now, let’s have a look at several A-Listers who have thrown cash at Elon Musk for an 8-bit stainless-steel pickup truck. Whether or not everyone on this list – which is far from comprehensive, of course – still owns the truck since these images were first posted is up for some debate.
Jay-Z
It’s no surprise that as one of music’s most successful entrepreneurs, Hov finds himself in a position to palm a set of keys to a Cybertruck — wrapped in matte black, of course. Some talking heads on the internet have openly theorized the truck was nothing more than a marketing placement by Tesla to drive a bit of hype, but there was really no reason for the company to do that, given the level of buzz already around this thing. With copies recently piling up like cord wood in parking lots, however, maybe it’s time Tesla rings Mr. Carter for a fresh round of Instagram posts.
Justin Bieber
The outrageously famous Canadian, who now looks like a handyman one would hire from a shady Facebook post, has no trouble affording a Cybertruck, and can probably buy multiple copies out of the spare change found underneath his living room couch — as is his prerogative, by the way. Bieb’s ownership of the Cybertruck was first remarked upon earlier this year, and seems to be an ongoing thing. He was spotted just the other day in the thing whilst departing Chateau Marmont.
Lady Gaga
The artist and actor posted a selfie on Instagram a few months ago showing herself behind the wheel of a Cybertruck, a machine with which she was again spotted later that month whilst out and about in Malibu. Lest you get confused at yer next pop-culture pub quiz, she has also been spotted as a passenger in a differently trimmed Cybertruck, one which apparently belongs to someone else — in other words, it does not appear she has a matching set of the things at home.
Steve Aoki
Whilst not everyone may recognize this EDM artist, your author is a huge fan and the compiler of this list — so he’s included. Aoki is known for producing some of the best examples of music in his genre, forming collabs with everyone from will.i.am to Nicki Minaj whilst making appearances at shows like Ultra Music Festival in Miami. Consider this our request for him to park his Cybertruck on stage during his next set at EDC in Vegas.
Spike Lee
When he’s not busy appearing in ads alongside Giancarlo Esposito for Fiat or threatening legal action against a television station about its name, Spike Lee found time a couple of years ago to throw down a deposit on the Cybertruck. He seems to have taken delivery of it about a year ago, which would have made Lee one of the first customers to climb behind the wheel. We just know there have been some Knicks memorabilia in the cargo box at some point or another.
Shaquille O’Neal
The hulking NBA superstar has been rolling up to snazzy venues in a shiny black Cybertruck lately, one made even more unique with red underglows (throwback, baby!) and a so-called wide-body kit with 26-inch wheels. We get the impression Shaq cares even less about what those mods, reportedly installed by an outfit called Effortless Customs, do to overall EV range than he cares about what mere mortals think about his free-throw percentage. By some accounts, this is actually Shaq’s second Cybertruck.
2Rare (Hotel Crash Guy)
Okay — this lad isn’t so famous a rapper as Jay-Z or Dre, but the calamity he caused after allegedly hopping a curb at two o’clock in the morning outside the Beverly Hills Hotel created what may be possibly one of history’s all-time greatest photos when it comes to capturing the bizarro world of Hollywood. After first blaming a valet service, then copping to the crash on social media, 2Rare and his rare situation even drew the attention of Elon Musk himself, who felt a need to point out the truck’s immensely powerful acceleration capabilities.
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