How Two Pizza Enthusiasts Turned Tesla Cybertrucks into Mobile Pizzerias!
In an innovative twist to the future of food trucks, two pizza enthusiasts from New Jersey, Ryan McDermott and Fabio Antonio Arbelaez, have transformed Tesla Cybertrucks into mobile pizzerias, igniting excitement among foodies and Tesla fans alike. What began as a passion for pizza and a shared admiration for Tesla’s groundbreaking technology has now turned into a thriving business that marries modern electric vehicle technology with the age-old love for pizza.
McDermott, a restaurant owner from The Columbia Inn in Montville, and Arbelaez, his business partner, set out on an ambitious mission to reinvent the food truck concept by using Tesla’s Cybertruck as the foundation. Their mobile pizzeria, which they proudly display across New Jersey, now features two custom Cybertrucks that can pump out a staggering 120 pizzas per hour. This ingenious combination of electric vehicle innovation and culinary creativity is shaping what could be the future of food trucks, where sustainability and efficiency are at the forefront.
Both McDermott and Arbelaez were already Tesla enthusiasts long before they conceived the idea of turning Cybertrucks into pizza ovens on wheels. Arbelaez had pre-ordered a Cybertruck back in 2019, well before the vehicle even hit the market, driven by his belief in Tesla’s vision for sustainable energy and technology.
His admiration for the electric vehicle giant aligned with McDermott’s sentiments, as they both saw potential in combining Tesla’s advanced engineering with their business. McDermott described their decision to go with Cybertrucks as much more than a business move—it was a personal commitment to reducing dependency on fossil fuels. “Our dependency on oil has got to be broken, and in time, you’re going to see that with the technology that Tesla is working on,” McDermott shared.
Their enthusiasm for Tesla’s products went beyond just appreciation for the vehicles—they saw an opportunity to align their business values with environmental sustainability. As Tesla’s electric vehicles require no gas or propane, McDermott and Arbelaez saw this as a game-changer for the food truck industry, traditionally reliant on diesel-powered generators and propane for cooking. In their view, the Cybertruck’s ability to run purely on electricity while housing the equipment necessary for pizza-making made it the perfect vehicle for their mobile business.
Turning a Tesla Cybertruck into a pizza-making machine required some clever engineering and customization. McDermott and Arbelaez worked diligently to ensure that their Cybertrucks could meet the needs of a fast-paced mobile pizzeria. The trucks are equipped with 50-by-40-inch ovens that can cook pizzas in about two minutes, an impressive feat for any pizza operation, let alone one on wheels. They custom-built a slide for the ovens, allowing the units to be pulled out when parked, making the cooking process more efficient.
In addition to the ovens, the Cybertrucks are outfitted with a refrigeration unit and a passenger-side dry ice cooler to keep ingredients fresh. The self-contained nature of the Cybertruck means that the entire operation runs off its battery power, with no need for traditional fuel sources like gas or propane. As long as the Cybertruck is charged, McDermott boasts that they can cook pizzas anywhere—whether it’s in the middle of a city or at the top of a mountain. “I don’t need gas, I don’t need propane. It’s really amazing, and I think there’s a bright future with this thing,” McDermott said.
One thing that has garnered attention, both positive and negative, is the Cybertruck’s polarizing design. With its futuristic, angular structure, the Cybertruck has often been compared to a vehicle out of a science fiction movie. Arbelaez revealed that reactions to the truck have been mixed, with about 70% of the public offering positive comments. However, some detractors have criticized the truck’s aesthetics, with one onlooker even comparing it to a dumpster.
Instead of being offended, Arbelaez embraced the comment, calling it “the best compliment he ever got.” For him, the Cybertruck’s distinctive design is part of what makes it an effective marketing tool. “It’s like a billboard on the highways,” he remarked, highlighting how the truck’s striking appearance draws attention to their mobile pizza operation.
The unique appearance of the Cybertruck has helped elevate the profile of McDermott and Arbelaez’s business, with foodies and Tesla fans alike taking notice. Arbelaez recounted how he regularly receives emails from people who spot their trucks on the road, intrigued by the idea of a Cybertruck turned into a food truck. Despite some of the negative feedback, the duo remains undeterred. In fact, they see the buzz around the Cybertruck’s design as a key part of their branding and marketing strategy.
As their business continues to grow, McDermott and Arbelaez are already looking toward the future. With Tesla’s advancements in autonomous driving technology, Arbelaez envisions a day when their Cybertrucks could deliver pizzas without the need for a driver. “The goal with the Cybertrucks is eventually to have them deliver without a driver,” he explained. This would create a new level of convenience for customers, allowing them to place an order, and the Cybertruck would drive itself to their location. While customers would still need to step outside to retrieve their pizzas, this concept could revolutionize pizza delivery, combining cutting-edge technology with the beloved tradition of pizza.
For McDermott and Arbelaez, the creation of their Cybertruck pizzeria was more than just a business move—it was an experiment in innovation and sustainability. As McDermott noted, they never set out to calculate a return on investment. The focus was on having fun, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, and sharing their love for pizza and Tesla technology with the world. “We didn’t know what it would look like. It’s been fun, and luckily we have the latitude to experiment,” McDermott reflected. Moving forward, the pair is open to expanding their fleet, imagining a future where Cybertruck pizzerias become a national phenomenon.
In the end, the partnership between McDermott and Arbelaez is a testament to entrepreneurial creativity, sustainability, and a passion for pushing the limits. Their use of Tesla Cybertrucks for mobile pizzerias is a bold and innovative step in reimagining the food truck industry, and as Tesla’s technology continues to evolve, so too will the possibilities for what can be achieved with these futuristic vehicles.