An iconic world representation of apartheid oppression
According to two Rice University academics, Elon Musk’s Tesla Cybertruck is a resemblance to the car that “patrolled and tormented” black townships in South Africa.
In consequence, Professors Vivian Chenxue Lu and Nana Osei-Opare write in Slate that the similarities between the Cybertruck and the Casspir military vehicle ( pictured, below ) “blur the boundaries between the battlefield and the public street.”
The faculty write that “[T]he Cybertruck’s terrible, sharp ends remind us ] of something from the past: the larger armoured personnel vehicles that guarded streets in apartheid South Africa during Musk’s children.
The Casspir had become a famous worldwide representation of racism oppression by the 1990s.
According to Lu and Osei-Opare, Musk “likely” would have seen the Casspir when he was a child during the Soweto rebellion, in their very best efforts.
Musk, however, was not required to travel in the Casspir because he left South Africa a year before being able to join the Southern African Defence Force.
The Casspir was also used by the US government during the Next Gulf War and American attacks of Iraq and Afghanistan, and it is now being used by various police agencies across the country.
Lu and Osei-Opare note that the Casspir was a part of the” impressive use of pressure” during Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri.
The professors claim that the Cybertruck, which is” not designed for actual combat,” makes use of the “romanticized border violence and war” of American pop culture.
For instance, its marketing directly taps into the existing apocalyptic visions that permeate both right- and left-wing social imaginaries, including nuclear, civil, and class warfare. It features a Bioweapon Defense Mode and a “built-in medical degree HEPA filter” that “helps provide shelter from 99.97 % of aerial allergens” and is described as being “built for any planet”. A third-party Tesla changes company, aimed at government and civil clients, sells Cybertruck upgrades to make it run on diesel, biodiesel, and electricity.
The possibility of a Cybertruck becoming an artillery car is not just a dream. Unsanctioned by Tesla, a number of clients, ranging from a YouTuber to Chechen forces fighting for Russia in Ukraine, have modified a Cybertruck by attaching machine guns to its base, turning it into a lightly armored armed system.
The authors come to the conclusion that the vehicle’s “pseudo-futuristic eyesight is violent, stainless-steel fortified, masculinist, personal, and unforgiving,” regardless of whether Musk or the Cybertruck’s designers made a conscious decision to take inspiration from the Casspir.
Apartheid’s military, social, and emotional tradition roams our streets, whether through Casspirs or the Cybertruck.
According to her faculty page, Lu’s ( pictured ) work concentrates on the” cultural politics of profit, transnational commerce, ethnonationalism, and diaspora.”
Osei-Opare has written about the “intersection of white power and prejudice as an analytical type in the Cold War theoretical framework” and “black radicals ‘ partnership to Marxist-Leninism,” “labor and labor agitation in postcolonial Africa,” and”.
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A Cybertruck is parked in a lonely place, according to the title of the image, Caption Credit. Slate/X, Rice University, inside Graphics
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