Shaquille O’Neal is a rather massive man. Standing at a towering 7ft 1, there aren’t many cars out there that can comfortably fit the man inside. So, when he does find one that poses the potential of doing so, the Lakers legend often gets so excited that he buys it almost immediately. Such a scenario happened extremely recently, as he revealed on The Big Podcast, where he admitted, he got quite the deal on a Tesla Cyberbeast.
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O’Neal initially broke down how a case of false advertising got him to notice the dealership, who he then got in contact with. During this time, the dealership apparently had a conversation with him about the Tesla Cyberbeast, and how it could fit him in it.
Shaq was apparently in no mood to control his excitement. So, he simply told the dealership that if they could get the car to Las Vegas, they had a deal. And sure enough, before too long, he had a brand-new Tesla.
“A company, Effortless Motors tag, that they sold LeBron [James] a car. LeBron got upset ‘You liar’, whatever. I was thinking if LeBron can fit in this car, and he don’t want it… say Bron is 6ft9 – 6ft10… When I call [the dealership], he’s standing in front of these trucks. I say, ‘What is that?’. He was like, ‘Oh, it’s the Cyberbeast, a little bit bigger than the Cybertruck. I was like ‘Hey, how much?’. And he gave me the deal of a lifetime.”
On the show, he then uploaded a clip that contained him and the representative of Effortless Motors, essentially celebrating their business transaction. In it, Shaq went as far as to thank the now-infamous intern who had caused the LeBron James incident not too long ago.
On multiple different counts, this whole ordeal is a bit of an eyebrow-raiser. Of course, thanking an intern who had caused an infamous incident and was subsequently let go of is off-beat enough. However, what really needs to be noted here, is that O’Neal potentially traded his beloved custom Dodge Charger Hellcat for the Tesla.
By itself, this may not seem too off-putting. After all, Teslas are luxurious vehicles that go for top dollar in the market. However, what makes this business decision notable, is that Shaq has come out publicly in the past, to say that he despises Teslas.
Shaquille O’Neal’s past hatred for Teslas
Shaquille O’Neal has hardly been coy about his hatred for Teslas in the past. He even did so as recently as 2023, announcing just about every other luxurious vehicle brand to be better than Elon Musk’s brand. He said,
“Going for all Challengers, all Hellcats, all Camaros, all Ferraris, all Lamborghinis. And the ones that I hate, you goddamn Teslas! Don’t mess with me!”
To be fair to the 7-footer, he had a good reason, something he explained in 2020. At that time, Elon Musk hadn’t quite created a vehicle that could fit Shaq in it. Over time, this started to become more and more of a problem with O’Neal, who would then announce his issue with the company through a simple statement,
“Elon, you wanna make a big boy Tesla?”
Fortunately, it does appear that Elon Musk paid heed to the Los Angeles Lakers legend’s criticism. The Tesla Cyberbeast is larger than the Cybertruck, so much so, that even O’Neal can fit in it.
Shaq is clearly satisfied with the conclusion of this whole ordeal. And as a result, he now has a brand new Tesla that he will likely be riding around in for a long time.
