Meet The Baby Boomer Wyoming Grandma Who Breaks The Mold Of A Cybertruck Owner

CHEYENNE — The typical Tesla owner is an upper-middle-class male in his 50s who makes more than $150,000 a year, according to Business Insider.

But Dr. Karen Meister-Emerich of Cheyenne, who owns a Cybertruck, is anything but typical. The baby boomer grandma was taking her first computer programming classes in 1968 — the same year the Apollo Guidance Computer made its debut, but long before those clunky Commodores and Tandy models from Radio Shack were a thing.

“You don’t think of a baby boomer grandma being a Tesla Cybertruck owner,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “But, you know, one of my friends made the comment when she found out I had the Cybertruck, she said, ‘That is so you,’ because I tend to be the person that is leading edge on technology.”

Meister-Emerich is still a technology hound at 75 years young, and her brand-new Cybertruck’s space-age appearance is exactly what she likes about it.

It’s stainless steel body reminds her of a DeLorean, a vehicle she had always wanted to get but never did.

“There was an ad one time for a used one for $10,000,” Meister-Emerich said. “And I thought about maybe borrowing the money, but then I thought I’ve got a lot of better things I need to use my money on.”

When she saw Elon Musk’s new Cybertruck with all its cool angles and sharp corners, it was like seeing the DeLorean all over again.

She was in love.

“Some people hate that angular look and want a real rounded look, but I’m a math person, and I like all the angles and sharp corners and stuff like that,” she said. “So, on Valentine’s Day of 2022, I put my money down. You put down $100, and it was refundable if you changed your mind.”

Fast forward to this past June, Meister-Emerich got a text directing her to pick out which model of Cybertruck she wanted. Now it was time to put up or shut up.

Was she going to go through with it? Was she going to get this sleek, shiny Cybertruck of her dreams?

She and her husband talked it over and decided to go through with it. They picked the Foundation series.

After that, they got a text telling them to expect delivery sometime between June and August.

“I thought, ‘Oh, no problem, it’ll be August,” she said. “But a few days later, I got another text telling me to pick up my Cybertruck at the Aurora delivery center the very next week.”

Nine Kinds Of A Conversation Starter

And just like that, Meister-Emerich and her husband became Cybertruck owners. They quickly learned that had put them into something of a cool kids car club.

People wanted to know what it was like to drive the truck. They wanted to take a peek inside and look at all the screens and the new technology.

Emmerich is more than happy to oblige those requests.

“I’m an extrovert,” Meister-Emerich said. “So, I open the door, I let the kids look at the screens, and I tell them about everything. And it’s always kind of fun to chat with people.”

The car is nine kinds of a conversation starter, but not all the conversations have been friendly. The vehicle is definitely polarizing, Meister-Emerich said.

“There are some who are just, they think you’re anti-American for owning a Tesla or an electric vehicle,” she said. “Like, well, let’s see. The Tesla is built in America. It’s built in Texas. Yeah, what’s un-American about owning a U.S.-made vehicle?”

Others will tell her that electric vehicles are all bad or accuse her of being anti-oil and gas.

In fact, on one occasion, Meister-Emerich had someone in a big Dodge pickup drive by her and the Cybertruck, blowing out a massively dark and rolling coal-black cloud of smoke at her, clearly trying to make a statement about fossil fuels.

She just shakes her head at such things.

She’s already well-aware that the electricity she uses to power electric vehicles comes from coal and oil and gas, as well as wind, solar and, probably soon, nuclear.

“Just because I’m using my fuel in a different format than their fuel, why is that a problem?” she said. “I mean, I agree with Gov. (Mark) Gordon. I think an all-of-the-above strategy is appropriate. You use the right tool for the job.”

She’s even had some accuse her of showing off, flaunting her wealth.

“This was cheaper than the Corvette I was looking at,” she said. “A Suburban costs about the same amount of money. Would they be going up to people and making rude comments to them if they’re driving the top-of-the-line Dodge pickup, or a Suburban or a Corvette?”

Yes, It Does Drive Like A Space-Age Dream

The Cybertruck is advertised as able to go from zero to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, with 11,000 pounds of towing capacity.

But what Meister-Emerich likes best is just how smooth and pleasant her ride was.

There was a bit of a learning curve at first, she admitted. That started by watching a few videos to understand how all the screens and everything function together.

But she found the computer screen in her car not unlike her iPad in function, and she was soon handling it like a pro.

“I had said there was no way I could ever let the vehicle take control,” Meister-Emerich said. “But when I started driving it, about five minutes later I’m going, ‘I really like this.’”

No longer did she have to grip the steering wheel tightly the whole way home, getting tired and achy hands.

“With this, you have to have your hand on the steering wheel, but it doesn’t have to be gripping,” she said. “It’s much more relaxed.”

The driver assist also allowed her to scan the highway more than usual. She could take a peak at the landscapes passing by every now and then.

“It’s a much less narrow focus than just on the highway,” she said. “So it’s much easier on the eyes.”

Cussing The Cruise Control — AKA Operator Error

One funny story Meister-Emerich likes to tell is how her husband Fred at first was cussing at the cybertruck’s auto assist feature.

“You know how the cruise control slows down a little bit as it gets closer to another vehicle,” she said. “Well, every time he would take the wheel to pass it, the cruise control would go off.”

That’s a problem because, unlike a gas-powered vehicle, an electric-powered vehicle slows down much more rapidly when the power is cut. So every time that happened, the bottom would drop out of the car’s speed.

Later, though, Fred noticed something. Whenever the blinker went on for changing lanes, if he waited a bit, the Cybertruck would, by itself, go around the vehicle and then, once it was past, return to the driving lane.

“So what he was doing when he was taking control of the steering wheel, that was telling the truck to turn auto assist off,” Meister-Emerich said. “Once he figured that out, he started to feel more comfortable with it.”

The car is constantly checking for obstacles as it’s driving, so it won’t change lanes until it’s safe to do so, Meister-Emerich added.

“Everything is controlled on the screen,” she said. “That does take a little bit of getting used to. But when you put the blinker on to go right, your screen shows you what’s to your right. If you put it to go left, it will show you what’s on your left. So it’s constantly monitoring all of those different areas.”

Range Anxiety More Mental Than Real

The biggest hurdle for Meister-Emerich was more mental than anything else.

“I did have range anxiety,” she said. “Range anxiety is a real thing.”

Being a longtime early adopter, though, she knew there’s really only one way to get over such things, and that’s take the plunge.

So the couple took it on a road trip to Michigan to visit family and friends this past fall.

They were easily able to find Tesla Superchargers all along the way for the 3,000-mile-plus round trip, and the car easily made 200 miles between charging stops. Not only did the Cybertruck work beautifully as a roadtrip car, Meister-Emerich said finding the Superchargers led the couple to discover lots of new things along the way.

“We would go to maybe some of the nicer restaurants to have meals, because we would eat at whatever was near the charging station since we were going to be there for a half an hour,” she said.

That led them to find new favorite places to eat all along the way to Michigan, including the best pot pie ever at a Hy-Vee grocery store deli somewhere in Iowa.

She also discovered that the Cybetruck’s “frunk,” which is a compartment similar to a trunk, but in the front of the vehicle instead of the back, makes the perfect table and seat for a little picnic. The couple enjoyed hot dogs on their frunk while waiting on their car to charge in Kremling, Colorado.

“My husband has a GMC Canyon, and the Tesla is much easier to get into,” she said. “It lowers to an entry level for getting in and out, and it can go to two other levels if you’re off road, but I just kept it at that middle level for driving around.”

New Technology Empowering For Older Adults

The funnest part of the Cybertruck for Meister-Emerich, however, is just navigating the new technology itself. That’s something she’s always loved to do and been a big advocate for.

“When you go on vacation, you have to take the time to learn to read the bus schedules and things like that,” she said. “So you know, there’s going to be new technology in the next year. And that there’s going to be new technology 10 years from now.

“If you’re progressively moving forward with the technology, it’s not a giant leap, it’s just a continuous ease into new technology.”

She thinks driver-assist vehicles will one day help people remain independent longer.

“If you think about it, one of the reasons many people have to go to an old folks’ home is that they can no longer drive,” she said. “They can’t go get their own groceries or go and get to their doctor’s appointment or go to the mall and walk around to see what’s going on.

“But if you have a vehicle that could take you there, just think how many people would be able to stay in their home?”

While it may seem that driverless cars are still a way into the future, Meister-Emerich has friends who recently ordered a taxi in Las Vegas that turned out to be 100% self-driving.

“There was nobody in the driver’s seat at all,” Meister-Emerich said. “So, I know it’s coming. And I’m ready for the future. I’m going to be comfortable in the future. I’m not afraid of the future.”

Contact Renee Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.