I used to have a similarly narrow view. And because my worldview was similarly colored and judgmental, I too would roll my eyes when I saw an off-road capable truck parked at a mall, and reflexively throw out similar loosely-substantiated stats (70% will never take them off-road, etc.), and even indulge in more vitriolic private musings such as "he's probably compensating for a smaller-than-desirable reproductive organ."

That changed when I traded-in my Tesla for a mid-sized, off-road capable truck, and found myself on the receiving end of this view.

I certainly did not buy a truck to "overcompensate" as the article suggests or to use it only to haul groceries. I'm not even a blue collar worker – decidedly white collar in SV, with no need to haul lumber or construction material. Luckily, being a SV white collar type also made me beneficiary of WFH, and killed my commute.

I loved my model S, but didn't need an efficient/fun tarmac shuttlecock between work and home anymore. I also found that an off-road truck was more suited to my new "commute": like the ability to go haul my astrophotography equipment to the middle of nowhere – far away from light pollution where regular cars can't make it.

I also traded-in my road bike for a mountain bike because I discovered that even small/mid-sized cars are hostile to cyclists in America. It doesn't matter if a Nissan Leaf runs me over or a Ford F-150 – I'm still dead. So now I also use my off-road truck to haul my off-road bike to places where a regular car can't run me over. A bear maybe, but not a car.

Rivian seems to offer the best of all worlds, and I'm rooting for their charging infrastructure to grow asap – so I can still do truck stuff, without the emissions.

Are there people who'll buy a truck/SUV only to use it as a mall crawler? Sure. Just as there are people who'll buy BMW M3s or Porsche 911s and never take it on the track.