I’m pleased to say that ‘sorry’ very much isn’t the hardest word for me. I’m more than happy to hold my hands up when I’ve got something wrong, or apologise when I need to. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen too often, but maybe that’s because I will rarely go out on a limb, or put myself in a position that could make me look foolish at some point in the future.

However, one of the times this did happen, was with the Tesla Cybertruck. When it first appeared, on 21 November 2019, I scoffed and thought that it would never see the light of day. Fast-forward just over four years and everyone from ‘X’ evangelists to people in the real world are seemingly in awe of a production version of the latest Musk-inspired machine. Possibly for amusement purposes more than anything, the Cybertruck has featured in the ‘Cars on the Horizon’ page of this very digital publication for years, but now it can rightfully take its place in the rest of the Tesla range.

So sorry, Elon. I’m sorry I doubted you and I’m sorry that I wasn’t really completely onboard with the idea of a five-seat, odd-shaped, 3-tonne-plus, 5.7m-long automotive behemoth. Maybe my doubt/cynicism came from the fact it looked so ‘different’, but fair play to the company, it has pulled it off.

Life – in and outside of the automotive sphere – is full of surprises. Some good, others not so good. But it’s why I expect the unexpected and am not very often shocked by anything that happens. Of course, it does help prepare you with some background, which is why this ‘Future of Fleet’ issue is so important to you, the readers of EV Fleet World Digital. As has been said more times than the Tesla faithful have defended Musk, the industry is going through a massive change – and we, collectively, need to prepare for it. Hopefully, our expects featured here will have some help and advice to make the transition that bit easier.

You might not be in the market for a Cybertruck just yet, or maybe never – or you might be one of the people who put a deposit down years ago and are now feeling smug (even though the car is going to cost quite a bit more than originally planned). But we are all on a journey to the electric future. There will be bumps along the road but if you have one eye on what’s left and right of you – as well as straight in front of you – you’ll have a better chance of making it to your destination relatively unscathed!

Enjoy the issue.

John Challen Editor