Tesla's Franz von Holzhausen, Cybertruck's Lead Designer, Celebrates 16 Years: 'Amazing What The Team Has Accomplished'

Tesla Inc.’s Senior Design Executive Franz von Holzhausen, most known for his work on the design of the company’s unconventional Cybertruck, celebrated his 16th work anniversary with the EV giant on Thursday.

What Happened: “16 years ago today I joined Tesla, amazing what the team has accomplished! So many more exciting things to come!” Holzhausen wrote on X. Holzhausen is among the longest-serving executives at Tesla.

According to the vehicle designer’s LinkedIn profile, he has been at the company since August 2008, soon after the company started the production of its first EV – the first-generation Roadster. Before joining Tesla, Holzhausen also worked with Mazda, General Motors, and Volkswagen.

Since joining Tesla, Holzhausen has led the design of almost all of Tesla’s EV models including its latest Cybertruck.

Cybertruck Design: According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk‘s biography written by Walter Isaacson, Musk and Holzhausen had a product review session almost every Friday afternoon at the company’s design studio since 2008. The two began contemplating ideas for a Tesla pickup truck in early 2017.

The two brainstormed ideas, aiming for a truck different in form and manufacturing than others in the market.

The designer considered aluminum and even titanium before zeroing in on stainless steel for the vehicle’s structure and built a full-size mock-up of the Cybertruck by July 2019, which won the approval of the CEO.

“A majority of people in this studio hated it,” the designer told the biographer. “They were like, ‘You can’t be serious.’ They didn’t want to have anything to do with it. It was just too weird.”

The company subsequently unveiled the Cybertruck to the public in November 2019 and started delivering it to customers in November 2023.

The vehicle has become a celebrity favorite since, likely due to the vehicle's unconventional design, high price point, and the few units available on the road. 

Tesla is currently scaling the production of the Cybertruck and aims to make 250,000 annually by 2025. Musk has previously said that production, and not demand, is the biggest hurdle in ramping up Cybertruck deliveries.

Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.

Read More:

• Tesla CEO Elon Musk Says State EV Incentives Are ‘Seldom Used:’ ‘Maybe Lack Of Awareness Or Excessively Paperwork…’

Photo courtesy: Franz von Holzhausen