Tesla Model X Pickup Render Imagines Electric Utility Oddity
Digital artist Theophilus Chin reworks the Tesla Model X as a pickup, blending electric SUV elements with utility truck cues in a rendering that divides opinion.
A digital rendering by Theophilus Chin has reimagined the Tesla Model X as a pickup truck, combining the crossover’s distinctive design with a utility bed. The image, which appeared online in early 2016, sparked immediate reactions from electric vehicle enthusiasts and design watchers alike.
Chin’s rendering keeps the Model X’s signature front end, including its smooth nose and LED lighting, but swaps the sloping rear roof for a short, squared-off pickup bed. The proportions are strikingly different from the original SUV, with a cab-forward stance and a truncated rear. Chin’s inspiration reportedly drew on the Dacia Duster Oroch, a compact South American pickup, lending the Tesla-based design a compact, almost playful appearance.
At the time, Tesla had not announced any plans for a pickup. The Model X was still new to the market, positioned as the world’s first electric SUV with falcon-wing doors and a focus on family practicality. Chin’s rendering filled a gap in Tesla’s line-up that many fans and market analysts had speculated about, given America’s appetite for pickups and the growing interest in electric utility vehicles. The rendering followed similar digital experiments with other SUVs, such as the Audi Q7, which had also been imagined as pickups by online artists.
Design choices and reception
The Model X pickup render divided opinion. Some appreciated the playful take and the suggestion of what an electric utility vehicle might look like, while others criticised the proportions and the use of the Duster Oroch as a base for the rear. The result was a vehicle that looked markedly different from both a traditional American pickup and Tesla’s own design language. Compared to the Model ST digital estate render, which also explored new directions for Tesla, Chin’s pickup felt more experimental and less likely to see production.
The render also highlighted the challenge for designers attempting to graft pickup utility onto an existing crossover platform. The Model X’s skateboard chassis, with its floor-mounted battery pack, theoretically offered a flat bed, but the visual transition from SUV to pickup proved less than seamless in the virtual world.
No official Tesla pickup at the time
Tesla would not unveil its own pickup concept, the Cybertruck, until late 2019. Until then, renders like Chin’s offered the only glimpse of what an electric pickup from the brand might look like. For those interested in how other SUVs have been reimagined as pickups, the Audi Q7 and Dacia Duster have also received similar digital treatments.
- Tesla Model X pickup rendering (2016)
- Audi Q7 pickup digital render
- Facelifted Dacia Duster pickup render
