Tesla made a big splash when it revealed the Cybertruck. Even though we've seen it over and over again, it still makes you take a second look. As a result, other electric pickup concepts look pretty amazing next to Elon Musk's otherworldly creation, and Tesla's CEO himself has now admitted that the truck may fail because of its styling. Nonetheless, demand for the Tesla Cybertruck is pretty high and the company is not backing down, having just spent $400 million on parts for it. But what inspired this crazy look for the truck? Well, Tesla has just obtained a design patent for the vehicle, along with others for the Model Y and Roadster, which gives us a number of past vehicles that are referenced by the Cybertruck.

Thanks to Electrek, we've had a look at the design patent and seen that it references past patents dating back more than four decades, with the earliest pertaining to a Carabetta patent from November 1979. Of course, these referenced patents may not have necessarily been added by Tesla, as the patent examiners can do this too, but either way, it's interesting to see what will be officially listed on the Cybertruck's design patent.

The first patent from Carabetta seems to be for a vehicle that never made production, as does the Avelino Falero one from 1990. Similarly, the Alain Clenet design of the Eighties seems to be for something that never made production, although other designs of Clenet's did.

It's not just cars that are referenced either. This likely won't come as much of a surprise, but aerodynamic pickup bed cover designs are mentioned too, many of which were from inventor Javier Gaytan. Whatever the true inspiration is, the Cybertruck's actual design is credited to Tesla's design boss Franz von Holzhausen, along with other Tesla designers like Ian Kettle (lead exterior designer), Sahm Jafari, David Imai, and Ivan Lampkin.

There's no doubt that this is still one of the craziest vehicles we've ever seen, and even Musk breaking a window during its presentation didn't change that much. Will we one day look back on it as one of the purest expressions of minimalism in automotive design? Only time will tell.