I drove the Cybertruck

Hannah here, with a review and news on how between F1 and million-dollar Ferraris, car culture in Miami—and in Saudi Arabia—is popping. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi, it’s [Hannah Elliott](, writing from south Florida at the first-ever [ModaMiami]( car festival. RM Sotheby’s created the event [to compete with Hagerty’s concours]( held this same weekend nearly 400 miles north, in Amelia Island, outside Jacksonville. “If I push hard, I could probably turn Amelia Island into cars and coffee in the next 24 months,” RM Group Chairman and CEO Rob Myers told me on the phone last month. Does this tiff sound a little niche to you? It is, but there are tens of millions of dollars at stake in auction premiums, ticket sales and exhibitor fees, as well as sponsorship opportunities. More on that later. First, my big story this week was on another grudge match: Elon Musk vs. Ford, General Motors, Rivian and anybody else with an electric truck in the works. That’s right, the Cybertruck. Here’s everything you need to know about driving Tesla’s polarizing electric pickup. Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg I’ve been [wanting to drive the Cybertruck]( since its debut in 2019. Five years later, I finally got my chance. ([Thanks, Turo!]() I expected the 600-horsepower pickup to feel past its expiration date–and, yes, rather than looking futuristic, in real life it looks nostalgic, like a throw-back to the stainless steel DeLorean of the 1980s but with actual space in the trunk. And here’s the truck bed—offering 67 cubic feet of storage—which was Home Depot tested and Willow approved. Photographer: Hannah Elliott/Bloomberg All over Los Angeles, basically anyone who saw its giant, shiny hulk driving down the street was enthused, if not imprudent in their attempts to snap a photo. While the long-term engineering quality and off-roading features of the Cybertruck remain untested, there’s no denying that it prompts an emotional response in consumers. [In a sea of lookalike appliances]( that pass for trucks and SUVs these days, it was incredibly endearing. How did the Cybertruck handle? Not bad. [Read my full review here.]( Or give a listen to Matt Miller and I discussing it on the latest episode of the [Hot Pursuit! podcast](, or join me, Max Chafkin and David Papadopoulos on [Elon, Inc.]( from Bloomberg Businessweek.  Three out of four pedestrians agree, when you see a Cybertruck in the wild, you’ve got to take a photo. Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg Meanwhile here in Miami, it’s silver Bugatti EB110s and aqua Vectors getting all the attention. As Emma Spencer, founder and CEO of Interluxe, the production team behind ModaMiami, puts it, “The collector car community deserves new events to be excited about. The aspiration is to be the East Coast Pebble Beach.” That meant a [Carbone dinner]( Friday night for nearly $1,000 per seat, and an uber-cool Casa Tua lounge decorated with carpeting, flowers, palm trees and velvet-covered couches that made it feel like a throwback to the glory days of old Havana, Cuba. RM is auctioning things like [$2.2 million Porsches]( and hosting a nighttime concours featuring blue-chip Ferraris and million-dollar supercars. “It’s so nice to just roll out of bed and come here,” Miami resident Howard told me at Friday afternoon’s auction in the Biltmore ballroom. He was planning to bid on a 2008 Porsche 997 GT2, [lot 135](. “We’ve done Amelia Island for years—this year we wanted to try something new.” A model poses with a Lamborghini Miura in a ModaMiami promotional photo. Source: ModaMiami Come Monday, we’ll know the final ticket sales and auction tallies of both ModaMiami and Amelia Island—and if Myer’s grudge match has managed to disrupt the classic car circuit for the better. So far, I’m hearing a few power-players are actually visiting both shows, flying from Amelia Island to Miami and back in time to see both. And there’s talk that some of the biggest collectors who had attended Amelia for years have followed Myers south. They’re ready to try something new. It’s too early to say how the sales will turn out, but a slow start seems to have sped up: One staffer said media requests for Sunday’s concours had jumped from 150 to 500 overnight. For her part, Spencer says her indicators of success this first year will be less about profitability and more about feedback from concours entrants and VIP ticket-holders. “We want them to come back,” she says. Stay tuned. In other news Mark your calendars: [Bonhams announced]( Thursday it will partner with the organizers of the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix to [host a live auction]( on the track during race weekend May 3 to 5. The auction will be comprised of supercars and [the old F1 cars]( that are [gaining real traction]( on the collector car market. (Exhibit A: $18.8 million for a decommissioned Mercedes that Lewis Hamilton raced.) The nichest of niche collectors buy old F1, Nascar and Indy race cars—and then race them. Source: Gooding & Co. Connect with Hannah on [Instagram]( and [X](. Off to warmer climates Sunday evening, I’ll be flying to the Middle East for the [Bloomberg Power Players Summit](. Set against the backdrop of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the conference will bring some of the world’s most influential voices in sports, entertainment and technology to Jeddah. It will be my first time in Saudi Arabia, which has [become]( an [epicenter]( of athletic and motorsport investment over the past few years. From the [PGA Tour and LIV merger]( to the [privatization of Saudi Premier League soccer]( and major investments [in Formula One](, the Kingdom has worked hard to [match new ideas with the funds to support them](. The spending spree has caused significant disruption. I’ll be moderating a panel called “Gamechangers in Esports” with ESL FACEIT Group Co-CEO Craig Levine and Esports World Cup Foundation CEO Ralf Reichert. We are going to discuss how tech is pushing gamers’ experiences to new heights, prize pools are growing evermore lucrative and AI promises to change the game forever. Thank you to my colleague [Cecilia D’Anastasio]( for her [great reporting]( on such a fascinating field. A Saudi-backed esports firm will run new ‘Overwatch’ competitions. Photographer: Sergio Flores/Bloomberg Plus, I will be looking forward to hearing from McLaren’s Zak Brown and [Susie Wolff](, the managing director of Formula One Academy. They’re going to talk about how Netflix, new owners and new cars [have transformed F1]( in recent years–and where we are going in the future. Thank you to everyone who has given me great advice on what it’s like to [travel as a woman in Saudi Arabia](, and to the team of people who helped me complete the onerous requirements for obtaining my travel visa. It takes a village! I can’t wait to tell you how it all goes. And if you have more tips, [I’m all ears](mailto:helliott@bloomberg.net?subject=Saudi%20tip). [Saudi Arabia Goes Into Bat With Its Latest Sports Bid]( [Lucid CEO Says Struggling EV Maker Is Crucial to Saudi Arabia]( [Saudi Arabia’s PIF Is Key Backer of Electric Racing Leagues]( [UFC Rival PFL to Launch Saudi-Backed Middle East League in May]( [Saudi Arabia Explored Bid to Buy F1 for Over $20 Billion]( What else I’ve been into lately Before leaving for Miami, I’d been driving the [Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S](, a five-passenger SUV that comes from Mercedes’ performance shop, AMG. While some may not be crazy about its ultra-pigmented matte gray exterior and two-tone black and red interior, I thought they were fitting for the super-athletic attitude this 603-horsepower beast has going on. Upgrades like bronze ceramic brake calipers pushed the price of the one I drove to more than $147,000, making it one of the more expensive SUVs available in the luxury space even though it looks like pretty much every other Mercedes-Benz SUV out there right now. Still, I can’t deny how reassuring it was to be cosseted in that opulent cabin, piloting through some of LA’s worst rain in years. More Mercedes: SL-Class models from the 1990s, like this one loved by Princess Diana, are set for a propitious rise in price. Photographer: Ken Lennox/Mirrorpix/Getty Images Owning an old home like mine is forever a renovation process. Just completed: painting the lounge area outside our primary bedroom. Choosing a color for your walls can be tricky–I’ve had plenty of awkward missteps, like when I thought I could reliably choose a chartreuse for a patio room. So I was relieved when [Farrow & Ball Serge No. 9919]( turned out to be dark enough to feel dramatic but not so dark it looked black. The 78-year-old British company describes Serge, which is named after the original fabric used to make jeans, as a “chic, dark blue” that is “stronger than drawing room blue and less green than Hague blue” and “well-suited to entertaining spaces.” I don’t know how much entertaining we’ll be doing in our little lounge, but I do know Serge No. 9919 is the perfect hue for me. Next up: installing a [beautiful runner of carpeting]( on the curved staircase. If your tastes lean more monochrome, here’s everything you needed to know about the canny business model behind white paint. Photographer: Joanna McClure for Bloomberg Businessweek After the Power Players conference in Jeddah, I will make my way to [Habitas AlUla](, which opened in 2021 and to whose parent company [Saudi pumped $400 million into for expansion](. Located in an ancient oasis in the desert canyons of the Ashar Valley in northwestern Saudi Arabia, the resort says it focuses on fostering community, music, wellness, art and creativity by integrating them with local excursions, food, music and spa treatments. I can see the connection–this section of the world has been a crossroad of civilizations for millennia. I’m curious to see how much the vibe matches the marketing. The pool at Habitas AlUla. The hotel company got its start making camps for the Burning Man festival. Source: Habitas So, you had some questions... We call for queries [weekly on our Instagram account]( and [via e-mail](mailto:askpursuits@bloomberg.net?subject=I%20have%20a%20question). Here’s what you were dying to know about this time around. Who do you want next for your guest on the Hot Pursuit! podcast Marina Abramović. Michèle Mouton. Fran Lebowitz. Kara Swisher. Clarissa Ward. Heather K. McMahan. Stefano Domenicali. Lawrence Stroll. Wolfgang Porsche. Michael Bloomberg. Who do you think [Matt and I should talk to](? Connect with us above. Will a new Tesla Roadster ever see production? You can reserve yours [now](! And after a half-decade of delay, it may just arrive [by the end of 2025](. Remember when Tesla launched a Roadster from a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in 2018? Source: SpaceX Any other fun EVs to drive in the pipeline? I really want to drive the new electric [Cadillac Escalade IQ](. I saw it at a secret preview in Los Angeles last year, and it looks super cool. Porsche has some enticing new options coming down the pike, like the [new electric Macan](. I should be able to get inside that later this spring. If I travel to China, I would want to try the BYD Yangwang U9, a ​​​​​​$233,450 fully-electric supercar to rival Ferrari and Lamborghini. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg New for subscribers: Free article gifting. Bloomberg.com subscribers can now gift up to five free articles a month to anyone you want. 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