Forget bulletproof glass and 500-mile range. For this TikToker, the “perfect truck” doesn’t come from Silicon Valley hype. Instead, it comes from Subaru’s short-lived Baja, the half-car, half-truck oddball that somehow still has die-hard fans.
The viral clip from paleontologist and prospective truck buyer Ezekiel O’Callaghan (@raptorchatter) is a classic video head fake, setting up his quest for saving for his “dream truck” as he zooms in on an easily recognizable Tesla Cybertruck. The fakeout comes when the camera zooms past the “piece of [expletive]” Cybertruck and settles on the long-out-of-production Baja.
The Cult of Baja
Subaru introduced the Baja for the 2003 model year, billing it as a vehicle that blurred the line between car and truck. Built on the Subaru Legacy/Outback platform, it paired a four-door cabin with a short but usable pickup-style bed. While the design confused some buyers at the time, others appreciated its mix of comfort, all-wheel drive capability, and weekend utility.
The 3.5-foot bed wasn’t going to replace a full-size truck for heavy hauling, but with the rear “Switchback” pass-through and bed extender, owners could carry mountain bikes, camping gear, or even small loads of lumber.
Sales were modest, with fewer than 30,000 units sold across four model years, but the Baja carved out an identity. The available Turbo model was introduced in 2004 and added 210 horsepower and more enthusiast appeal.
Today, the Baja’s scarcity and quirkiness have cemented its reputation as a cult classic. Used examples can command surprising money on sites like Bring a Trailer and Cars & Bids, where clean, low-mileage examples often spark bidding wars. Entire online communities remain dedicated to keeping them running, swapping parts, and celebrating the vehicle’s oddball charm.
Cybertruck Hype Fading?
If the Baja embodies a plucky underdog, the Tesla Cybertruck represents the opposite: bold futurism wrapped in stainless steel. Since its 2019 reveal—complete with the infamous “shatterproof” glass demo gone wrong—the Cybertruck has been positioned as a disruptor in the pickup space. Early reservation numbers suggested massive demand, with Tesla boasting hundreds of thousands of deposits.
But as the truck has trickled into production, reality has been less clean. In 2024, Tesla struggled with early production volumes, pushing back deliveries multiple times. More recently, the company has faced high-profile recalls, including a March 2025 action that covered nearly all U.S. Cybertrucks over trim that could detach while driving. At the same time, Tesla announced a $15,000 price increase for its flagship “Cyberbeast” trim if buyers opt for the Luxe Package, raising eyebrows among early fans who expected a more accessible price point. Reports of resale values softening on secondary markets have only fueled speculation that the Cybertruck’s halo may be fading. In contrast to the steady cult enthusiasm for the Baja, the Tesla narrative has shifted from hype to scrutiny.
The TikTok reveal resonates because it taps into how people use vehicles to project identity. The Cybertruck’s angular profile symbolizes futurism, disruption, and a willingness to stand apart. Owning one is as much about making a statement as it is about towing or hauling. But that statement has become polarizing, with critics viewing it as impractical or even dystopian in its aesthetic.
The Baja, on the other hand, represents a kind of anti-hype. Its fans embrace the weirdness. To drive one is to signal a sense of humor, a connection to Subaru’s adventurous brand image, and a preference for something functional yet different. It’s not sleek or fast, but it has personality in spades. That’s what makes the TikTok joke work: After building suspense around the most polarizing truck of the decade, the creator pulls back to reveal a discontinued oddball that continues to inspire love precisely because it never tried to be mainstream. For a certain corner of car culture, that feels like the perfect punchline.
Motor1 reached out to O’Callaghan via direct message.
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