Tesla’s ‘Cyber Spoon’ is the McDonald’s promotion we never expected

Want to eat a Tesla-inspired McFlurry while waiting for your Cybertruck electric pick-up that’s two years behind schedule? Well you’re in luck, thanks to one of the strangest promotions in automotive history – if real.

The Chinese divisions of electric-car giant Tesla and fast-food pioneer McDonalds appear to be paying tribute to the Cybertruck electric pick-up by launching a unique McFlurry ice cream container and limited-edition silver spoon.

And before you check your calendar, this isn’t the first of April.

First spotted by Sawyer Merritt on social media platform X – formerly Twitter, and owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk – McDonald’s in China now says it is offering the McFlurry in a silver and grey case, incorporating the Cybertruck’s headlights into its design.

If that’s not enough to convince you this is a link-up between the two brands, it is sold with a ‘Cyber Spoon’ – a twist on the plastic utensil which is usually used to eat the ice cream, now made to look like the electric pick-up.

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Fake news afaik

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 6, 2023

Tech publication The Verge notes the Cyberspoon is inscribed with “Don’t Panic”, the iconic line from Douglas Adams’ science fiction book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – a favourite of Elon Musk.

Mr Merritt’s post drew the attention of Mr Musk, who called the product “fake news afaik [as far as I know]”.

However he was quickly corrected by being shown that both McDonald’s and Tesla’s Chinese divisions have announced the partnership on social media platforms Xiaohongshu and Weibo, respectively. 

According to McDonald’s post on Weibo, the promotion will run from September 6 to 26, though stock of the Cyber Spoon is limited to 50,000 examples – expected to be snapped up quickly given China’s population of more than 1.4 billion people.

It’s not the first time McDonald’s has been involved in an unexpected cross promotion.

Most famously, the certain McDonald’s locations in the US were inundated with customers in late 2017 after an episode of the animated cartoon series Rick and Morty referenced the fast-food chain’s Szechuan dipping sauce, which launched in 1998 to promote Disney’s Mulan film.

A limited supply of the sauce was released for one day, creating overwhelming demand which resulted in police intervention at some restaurants.

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