Utah man made a 24-karat golden Tesla Cybertruck with nearly $60,000 worth of gold and its auction ended at a surprising amount
Published on Sep 29, 2026 at 6:40 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Sep 29, 2026 at 6:40 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
Utah YouTuber, JerryRigEverything, customized his Tesla Cybertruck Foundation Series with real 24-karat gold as part of an interesting experiment.
It cost a small fortune to customize the Cybertruck, and the idea was to give it away as part of a sweepstakes.
However, when the winner chose cash instead of a Cybertruck, the YouTuber decided to sell the vehicle directly at auction.
But that’s when things took an unexpected turn.
How this Cybertruck ended up covered in real gold
In 2024, JerryRigEverything worked with a company called Ridge on his Tesla Cybertruck Foundation Series, which was plated in genuine 24-karat gold.
Ordinarily, when you gold-plate something, you do so by dipping it in gold.
You can’t do that with a massive vehicle, which is why Nelson had to use a different approach.
The stainless-steel body was chemically prepared before gold was electrochemically deposited onto it.
The final plating was described as 99.7 percent gold hardened with a small amount of cobalt, with protective film later applied over the finished surface.
It does look worthy of a James Bond villain.
This move didn’t make a lot of financial sense
The whole thing cost nearly $60,000, which is a lot of cash, especially when you consider the Cybertruck Foundation Series started at $99,990.
Nelson decided to organize a sweepstakes in which the winner could choose the gold-plated Tesla, a Hennessey VelociRaptor valued at about $140,000, or $100,000 in cash.
The winner took the cash.
This left Nelson with a gold-plated problem, especially when you consider that, for his own reasons, Nelson no longer wanted to own anything made by Tesla at that point.
So he decided to auction the truck off.
But it didn’t go as expected.
Did the Cybertruck’s golden glow translate into bids?
The YouTuber sent the Tesla Cybertruck Foundation Series to Cars & Bids for a no-reserve charity auction, which didn’t go as planned.
By then, the early Foundation Series truck had accumulated about 6,900 miles.
In the end, the auction drew more than 152,000 views and 22 bids but the truck ‘only’ sold for $102,000.
That barely covered the original MSRP, which means the gold-plating idea was, at least financially, counterproductive.
Of course, these kinds of projects also create plenty of entertaining content, so we’re sure the experiment was worth it in more ways than one.
Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
