Rants from a 1st time Tesla Cyber Truck Owner at my 1 year Tesla Anniversary.

[DarickHemphill]

Never owned a Tesla, followed Elon and Spacex and Tesla for years. Every time I would be in a position to buy one my company would need capital infusion. One year I bought a 50k Mangle to press and fold linens... the ladies who run the machine put a sign on it that said "Darick's Tesla."

Then I saw the glass breaking as Elon demoed the CT. When he told me the price I had to have it. I placed an order for two of them. And then I waited, and waited, and waited. Then in January 2021 I found out my middle son had AML Leukemia. Overnight my world was rocked by childhood cancer. Within 24 hours St. Jude sent a plane to Springfield, MO to pick us up. Because of Covid his mom and two healthy siblings were not able be with us. St. Jude housed us, cared for us and made us feel at home for the next 6 months. I can tell you from first hand experience that the place is every bit as awesome as the ads on TV say. World class doctors and staff... I left with my 14 year old son alive and thriving. He graduated from college last week and attended prom the week before.... both things I wondered if he would ever have a chance to do. While we were in Memphis we talked about many things. The biggest was what his make a wish would be. We literally spent hours planning for it. The other thing we talked about was the Tesla Cybertruck. I would read articles about the truck to him when he couldn't open his eyes. On good days we argued about what it would be like if it ever came out.... It really didn't matter if it was the biggest lemon ever made or if it was the best car ever made... the subject of the cybertruck gave us both common ground to talk, plan, dream and most of all hope.

The first week we were at the hospital Jackson met his Physician Assistant Hayley Arceneaux. She was young, pretty and intelligent. What he quickly learned was that she was also a cancer survivor. When she was 10 she had been treated at St. Jude. He instantly smiled whenever she came in the room, and even if he was in 8 out of 10 pain and throwing up every five minutes he still managed to smile ear to ear when ever she rounded on us.

Then one day a duty nurse told him that a rumor was swirling around St. Jude that a staff member had been selected to go to space on Inspiration 4. Jackson wasted no time. The next time Hayley was in our room he asked her if she was allowed to lie to him. She paused only for a moment and admitted that she could lie to him, but that she never would. He then asked if she was the one selected to go to space. Earlier that day she had signed a stack of NDA's saying she could not talk about it, so instead she told us to watch the national news this week and we might find something out.

The news was huge at St. Jude! If Hayley could become an astronaut what could all these kids with cancer accomplish? Hope is so important. We watched her train for the mission to space while taking care of all her patients at St. Jude. When it came time for her to launch, we were invited to attend at Cape Canaveral. I was nervous for my son's survival but I literally did not sleep the week prior to her going to space. I was so worried for her safety. If you want to see the story I believe it is still a four part series on NETFLIX called inspiration 4. My son even makes a brief appearance on one of the episodes.

Watching her launch was the perfect way to have closure for my sons cancer journey. We were at that time HUGE fans of SPACEX and TESLA and of course Elon.

And then we waited for our cyber truck to arrive. And we waited. And we waited. When the notice finally appeared in my inbox I was so excited. despite the price being almost double what we were told on glass breakage day, I had to have that silly truck.

And then it arrived. The Foundation series came with a long list of "features" that sounded kinda silly to me. I don't drink beer so a bottle opener was not very practical. I am however glad that it was the only package available because it forced my cheap ass self to purchase FSD, connectivity and even the device to power my house if storms ever took out our power. I am so glad I did. One of the biggest joys in my life is pushing the button and letting the darn thing drive me through roundabouts and construction zones... already in just a few short months it has improved drastically. I know make the drive to St. Jude to volunteer and I rarely even have to touch the wheel or the brake. I love this truck. As a grown man I don't get excited about very much. Knowing that a new update for the truck is coming out soon is a close to the excitement I experienced as a kid at Christmas.

My only complaint about the truck is that I want some of the features that other less expensive cars enjoy. Elon, if you are listening show me you ASS! I worry that poor sales may take away from Tesla's commitment to update the truck.... but I never miss a chance to be an ambassador for TESLA when people stop me and ask questions about it. When I return to St. Jude now I get to show it off to kids who are going through the worst days of their short lives... the smiles on their faces when they see my truck, or play video games while using the steering wheel as a controller make me feel like the truck was an absolute bargain. Thank you Elon, and this community for helping to educate my dumb butt about the many features of this truck. If I could go back in time I would definitely do it all over again.

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[DaBagBoy]

Thanks for the great story, "hope for the future" is the reason so many of us share our truck with every kid with any interest at all.

Broken windows, exploding rockets, FSD near misses, ASS delay all "failures" by most definitions. But the fact that Elon has given us all permission to fail again, and again spectacularly at times, encourages progress had "hope for the future"

 

[devdrone6]

Great story and write up - what a way to use what you have to make others happy ?

Never owned a Tesla, followed Elon and Spacex and Tesla for years. Every time I would be in a position to buy one my company would need capital infusion. One year I bought a 50k Mangle to press and fold linens... the ladies who run the machine put a sign on it that said "Darick's Tesla."

Then I saw the glass breaking as Elon demoed the CT. When he told me the price I had to have it. I placed an order for two of them. And then I waited, and waited, and waited. Then in January 2021 I found out my middle son had AML Leukemia. Overnight my world was rocked by childhood cancer. Within 24 hours St. Jude sent a plane to Springfield, MO to pick us up. Because of Covid his mom and two healthy siblings were not able be with us. St. Jude housed us, cared for us and made us feel at home for the next 6 months. I can tell you from first hand experience that the place is every bit as awesome as the ads on TV say. World class doctors and staff... I left with my 14 year old son alive and thriving. He graduated from college last week and attended prom the week before.... both things I wondered if he would ever have a chance to do. While we were in Memphis we talked about many things. The biggest was what his make a wish would be. We literally spent hours planning for it. The other thing we talked about was the Tesla Cybertruck. I would read articles about the truck to him when he couldn't open his eyes. On good days we argued about what it would be like if it ever came out.... It really didn't matter if it was the biggest lemon ever made or if it was the best car ever made... the subject of the cybertruck gave us both common ground to talk, plan, dream and most of all hope.

The first week we were at the hospital Jackson met his Physician Assistant Hayley Arceneaux. She was young, pretty and intelligent. What he quickly learned was that she was also a cancer survivor. When she was 10 she had been treated at St. Jude. He instantly smiled whenever she came in the room, and even if he was in 8 out of 10 pain and throwing up every five minutes he still managed to smile ear to ear when ever she rounded on us.

Then one day a duty nurse told him that a rumor was swirling around St. Jude that a staff member had been selected to go to space on Inspiration 4. Jackson wasted no time. The next time Hayley was in our room he asked her if she was allowed to lie to him. She paused only for a moment and admitted that she could lie to him, but that she never would. He then asked if she was the one selected to go to space. Earlier that day she had signed a stack of NDA's saying she could not talk about it, so instead she told us to watch the national news this week and we might find something out.

The news was huge at St. Jude! If Hayley could become an astronaut what could all these kids with cancer accomplish? Hope is so important. We watched her train for the mission to space while taking care of all her patients at St. Jude. When it came time for her to launch, we were invited to attend at Cape Canaveral. I was nervous for my son's survival but I literally did not sleep the week prior to her going to space. I was so worried for her safety. If you want to see the story I believe it is still a four part series on NETFLIX called inspiration 4. My son even makes a brief appearance on one of the episodes.

Watching her launch was the perfect way to have closure for my sons cancer journey. We were at that time HUGE fans of SPACEX and TESLA and of course Elon.

And then we waited for our cyber truck to arrive. And we waited. And we waited. When the notice finally appeared in my inbox I was so excited. despite the price being almost double what we were told on glass breakage day, I had to have that silly truck.

And then it arrived. The Foundation series came with a long list of "features" that sounded kinda silly to me. I don't drink beer so a bottle opener was not very practical. I am however glad that it was the only package available because it forced my cheap ass self to purchase FSD, connectivity and even the device to power my house if storms ever took out our power. I am so glad I did. One of the biggest joys in my life is pushing the button and letting the darn thing drive me through roundabouts and construction zones... already in just a few short months it has improved drastically. I know make the drive to St. Jude to volunteer and I rarely even have to touch the wheel or the brake. I love this truck. As a grown man I don't get excited about very much. Knowing that a new update for the truck is coming out soon is a close to the excitement I experienced as a kid at Christmas.

My only complaint about the truck is that I want some of the features that other less expensive cars enjoy. Elon, if you are listening show me you ASS! I worry that poor sales may take away from Tesla's commitment to update the truck.... but I never miss a chance to be an ambassador for TESLA when people stop me and ask questions about it. When I return to St. Jude now I get to show it off to kids who are going through the worst days of their short lives... the smiles on their faces when they see my truck, or play video games while using the steering wheel as a controller make me feel like the truck was an absolute bargain. Thank you Elon, and this community for helping to educate my dumb butt about the many features of this truck. If I could go back in time I would definitely do it all over again.

 

[cbertgo]

Never owned a Tesla, followed Elon and Spacex and Tesla for years. Every time I would be in a position to buy one my company would need capital infusion. One year I bought a 50k Mangle to press and fold linens... the ladies who run the machine put a sign on it that said "Darick's Tesla."

Then I saw the glass breaking as Elon demoed the CT. When he told me the price I had to have it. I placed an order for two of them. And then I waited, and waited, and waited. Then in January 2021 I found out my middle son had AML Leukemia. Overnight my world was rocked by childhood cancer. Within 24 hours St. Jude sent a plane to Springfield, MO to pick us up. Because of Covid his mom and two healthy siblings were not able be with us. St. Jude housed us, cared for us and made us feel at home for the next 6 months. I can tell you from first hand experience that the place is every bit as awesome as the ads on TV say. World class doctors and staff... I left with my 14 year old son alive and thriving. He graduated from college last week and attended prom the week before.... both things I wondered if he would ever have a chance to do. While we were in Memphis we talked about many things. The biggest was what his make a wish would be. We literally spent hours planning for it. The other thing we talked about was the Tesla Cybertruck. I would read articles about the truck to him when he couldn't open his eyes. On good days we argued about what it would be like if it ever came out.... It really didn't matter if it was the biggest lemon ever made or if it was the best car ever made... the subject of the cybertruck gave us both common ground to talk, plan, dream and most of all hope.

The first week we were at the hospital Jackson met his Physician Assistant Hayley Arceneaux. She was young, pretty and intelligent. What he quickly learned was that she was also a cancer survivor. When she was 10 she had been treated at St. Jude. He instantly smiled whenever she came in the room, and even if he was in 8 out of 10 pain and throwing up every five minutes he still managed to smile ear to ear when ever she rounded on us.

Then one day a duty nurse told him that a rumor was swirling around St. Jude that a staff member had been selected to go to space on Inspiration 4. Jackson wasted no time. The next time Hayley was in our room he asked her if she was allowed to lie to him. She paused only for a moment and admitted that she could lie to him, but that she never would. He then asked if she was the one selected to go to space. Earlier that day she had signed a stack of NDA's saying she could not talk about it, so instead she told us to watch the national news this week and we might find something out.

The news was huge at St. Jude! If Hayley could become an astronaut what could all these kids with cancer accomplish? Hope is so important. We watched her train for the mission to space while taking care of all her patients at St. Jude. When it came time for her to launch, we were invited to attend at Cape Canaveral. I was nervous for my son's survival but I literally did not sleep the week prior to her going to space. I was so worried for her safety. If you want to see the story I believe it is still a four part series on NETFLIX called inspiration 4. My son even makes a brief appearance on one of the episodes.

Watching her launch was the perfect way to have closure for my sons cancer journey. We were at that time HUGE fans of SPACEX and TESLA and of course Elon.

And then we waited for our cyber truck to arrive. And we waited. And we waited. When the notice finally appeared in my inbox I was so excited. despite the price being almost double what we were told on glass breakage day, I had to have that silly truck.

And then it arrived. The Foundation series came with a long list of "features" that sounded kinda silly to me. I don't drink beer so a bottle opener was not very practical. I am however glad that it was the only package available because it forced my cheap ass self to purchase FSD, connectivity and even the device to power my house if storms ever took out our power. I am so glad I did. One of the biggest joys in my life is pushing the button and letting the darn thing drive me through roundabouts and construction zones... already in just a few short months it has improved drastically. I know make the drive to St. Jude to volunteer and I rarely even have to touch the wheel or the brake. I love this truck. As a grown man I don't get excited about very much. Knowing that a new update for the truck is coming out soon is a close to the excitement I experienced as a kid at Christmas.

My only complaint about the truck is that I want some of the features that other less expensive cars enjoy. Elon, if you are listening show me you ASS! I worry that poor sales may take away from Tesla's commitment to update the truck.... but I never miss a chance to be an ambassador for TESLA when people stop me and ask questions about it. When I return to St. Jude now I get to show it off to kids who are going through the worst days of their short lives... the smiles on their faces when they see my truck, or play video games while using the steering wheel as a controller make me feel like the truck was an absolute bargain. Thank you Elon, and this community for helping to educate my dumb butt about the many features of this truck. If I could go back in time I would definitely do it all over again.

Thank you for sharing this great story!

 

[nubbin77]

St. Jude's is extraordinary entity. It is literally a life saver and family saver. I would encourage people on this forum (let's face it, if we can afford a cybertruck we are doing pretty well for ourselves) to donate to St. Jude's. There are so many poorly run non profit's out there... St. Jude's is one of the good one's.

 

[jpeterk1]

Darick thanks for sharing your story.

 

[DarickHemphill]

St. Jude's is extraordinary entity. It is literally a life saver and family saver. I would encourage people on this forum (let's face it, if we can afford a cybertruck we are doing pretty well for ourselves) to donate to St. Jude's. There are so many poorly run non profit's out there... St. Jude's is one of the good one's.

I have run a business and made payroll for over 20 years. I was definitely on the lookout for waste when I got there. People spending other people's money is rarely a good thing. I can tell you so many times I saw them take incredible measures to make sure every penny was put to good use. I also saw times when

St. Jude's is extraordinary entity. It is literally a life saver and family saver. I would encourage people on this forum (let's face it, if we can afford a cybertruck we are doing pretty well for ourselves) to donate to St. Jude's. There are so many poorly run non profit's out there... St. Jude's is one of the good one's.

There are a group of Corvette owners who drive into the hospital each year. They come from all over the country and fundraise for St. Jude. How cool would it be to do the same thing with Teslas!? A lot of the corvette drivers will "adopt" a St. Jude kiddo and put signs on their cars with the kids names and some words of encouragement. We could maybe come at dusk and do a light show outside the hospital that kids in active treatment could see from their windows. How cool would that be? I remember taking my son out in a wheel chair and setting him on the tailgate of my F150. We watched every single car and when we saw his name on it we both got choked up.

 

[2025CTAWD]

This made me smile and tear up this morning. St. Jude Children’s Hospital is Great! I just finished a Cross Country Road Trip. Did a little charity drive for St. Jude Kiddos. 25 Days, 8899 Miles. I got home a week ago; last Friday! Good man you are to continue to go back and volunteer your time! Anything is possible in . The Nurses story to space was touching

While in LA, I drove my cousins Tesla Cybertruck. First time I drove an EV. Fell in love with FSD and I had to have my own! Ordered one few days ago. Awaiting delivery.

 

[CT_AZ_4x4]

Never owned a Tesla, followed Elon and Spacex and Tesla for years. Every time I would be in a position to buy one my company would need capital infusion. One year I bought a 50k Mangle to press and fold linens... the ladies who run the machine put a sign on it that said "Darick's Tesla."

Then I saw the glass breaking as Elon demoed the CT. When he told me the price I had to have it. I placed an order for two of them. And then I waited, and waited, and waited. Then in January 2021 I found out my middle son had AML Leukemia. Overnight my world was rocked by childhood cancer. Within 24 hours St. Jude sent a plane to Springfield, MO to pick us up. Because of Covid his mom and two healthy siblings were not able be with us. St. Jude housed us, cared for us and made us feel at home for the next 6 months. I can tell you from first hand experience that the place is every bit as awesome as the ads on TV say. World class doctors and staff... I left with my 14 year old son alive and thriving. He graduated from college last week and attended prom the week before.... both things I wondered if he would ever have a chance to do. While we were in Memphis we talked about many things. The biggest was what his make a wish would be. We literally spent hours planning for it. The other thing we talked about was the Tesla Cybertruck. I would read articles about the truck to him when he couldn't open his eyes. On good days we argued about what it would be like if it ever came out.... It really didn't matter if it was the biggest lemon ever made or if it was the best car ever made... the subject of the cybertruck gave us both common ground to talk, plan, dream and most of all hope.

The first week we were at the hospital Jackson met his Physician Assistant Hayley Arceneaux. She was young, pretty and intelligent. What he quickly learned was that she was also a cancer survivor. When she was 10 she had been treated at St. Jude. He instantly smiled whenever she came in the room, and even if he was in 8 out of 10 pain and throwing up every five minutes he still managed to smile ear to ear when ever she rounded on us.

Then one day a duty nurse told him that a rumor was swirling around St. Jude that a staff member had been selected to go to space on Inspiration 4. Jackson wasted no time. The next time Hayley was in our room he asked her if she was allowed to lie to him. She paused only for a moment and admitted that she could lie to him, but that she never would. He then asked if she was the one selected to go to space. Earlier that day she had signed a stack of NDA's saying she could not talk about it, so instead she told us to watch the national news this week and we might find something out.

The news was huge at St. Jude! If Hayley could become an astronaut what could all these kids with cancer accomplish? Hope is so important. We watched her train for the mission to space while taking care of all her patients at St. Jude. When it came time for her to launch, we were invited to attend at Cape Canaveral. I was nervous for my son's survival but I literally did not sleep the week prior to her going to space. I was so worried for her safety. If you want to see the story I believe it is still a four part series on NETFLIX called inspiration 4. My son even makes a brief appearance on one of the episodes.

Watching her launch was the perfect way to have closure for my sons cancer journey. We were at that time HUGE fans of SPACEX and TESLA and of course Elon.

And then we waited for our cyber truck to arrive. And we waited. And we waited. When the notice finally appeared in my inbox I was so excited. despite the price being almost double what we were told on glass breakage day, I had to have that silly truck.

And then it arrived. The Foundation series came with a long list of "features" that sounded kinda silly to me. I don't drink beer so a bottle opener was not very practical. I am however glad that it was the only package available because it forced my cheap ass self to purchase FSD, connectivity and even the device to power my house if storms ever took out our power. I am so glad I did. One of the biggest joys in my life is pushing the button and letting the darn thing drive me through roundabouts and construction zones... already in just a few short months it has improved drastically. I know make the drive to St. Jude to volunteer and I rarely even have to touch the wheel or the brake. I love this truck. As a grown man I don't get excited about very much. Knowing that a new update for the truck is coming out soon is a close to the excitement I experienced as a kid at Christmas.

My only complaint about the truck is that I want some of the features that other less expensive cars enjoy. Elon, if you are listening show me you ASS! I worry that poor sales may take away from Tesla's commitment to update the truck.... but I never miss a chance to be an ambassador for TESLA when people stop me and ask questions about it. When I return to St. Jude now I get to show it off to kids who are going through the worst days of their short lives... the smiles on their faces when they see my truck, or play video games while using the steering wheel as a controller make me feel like the truck was an absolute bargain. Thank you Elon, and this community for helping to educate my dumb butt about the many features of this truck. If I could go back in time I would definitely do it all over again.

Sponsored