The long-awaited Cybertruck has no Tesla badges on it because it is 'its own brand,' exec says

• Tesla's design chief has said there are no Tesla logos anywhere on the Cybertruck.
• Franz von Holzhausen told Jay Leno that Tesla saw the futuristic pickup as "its own brand."
• The Cybertruck's design has been highly polarizing and reportedly posed huge production challenges. 

Elon Musk thinks that the Cybertruck is Tesla's best-ever product — but the company seems to be positioning the futuristic pickup as its own brand.

Tesla's head of design Franz von Holzhausen told TV host Jay Leno that there are no Tesla logos anywhere on the Cybertruck, with the company opting to use a silhouette of the vehicle on the steering wheel and a Cyberpunk-esque "Cybertruck" logo instead as it seeks to establish the pickup as its own brand.

"There are no Tesla badges on the Cybertruck," Franz von Holzhausen told Leno's YouTube show "Jay Leno's Garage."

"It really is its own product, its own brand. I think you just see it and it becomes its own character," he said.

The Cybertruck's futuristic design is a marked departure from not only Tesla's other vehicles, but pickup trucks in general. It has proven to be highly polarizing, even among Tesla's own employees, some of whom reportedly designed their own alternatives in secret.

The unusual design choices have also posed significant production challenges, with Tesla's engineers reportedly finding the pickup's stainless steel body panels highly difficult to work with.

Elon Musk admitted that Tesla had "dug its own grave" with the Cybertruck in an earnings call in October, telling investors that the unique design of the electric truck, which began deliveries last month, meant that it would take several years for the company to ramp up production.

Von Holzhausen also told Leno that the company was developing wireless inductive EV chargers, which would allow Tesla owners to charge their cars at home without needing a wall connector.

"We're working on inductive charging — at that point, you won't even need to plug anything in. You will just be able to pull out of your garage and drive over the pad to charge it," he said.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.