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| - A rumor circulating online since at least June 2024 claims a picture authentically shows a fully restored 1875 chuckwagon. In the image, the vehicle appeared similar to the Tesla Cybertruck.
For example, on Oct. 27, 2024, the Facebook page Texas Inspiration posted the picture with the caption (archived), "Fully restored 1875 chuckwagon." Numerous other users also previously shared the same image with similar captions on Facebook, Imgur, Instagram, Threads, TikTok and X.
Some users claimed the image displayed the "Amish Edition" or "Frontier Edition" of a Tesla Cybertruck. Others mentioned years different than 1875, including 1898 and 1903. A few posts also compared the supposed vehicle to a Cybertruck by displaying two photos, saying whether in jest or not that the older work provided the inspiration for the modern-day Tesla invention.
However, as some readers likely gathered from initially viewing the image, the picture did not show a "fully restored 1875 chuckwagon." In our search for the original creator of the image, we noted that a reverse-image search found some of the oldest posts of the image originating with Facebook groups themed on artificial-intelligence (AI) creativity.
A Facebook user named Joshohoho — whose personal photo album displayed dozens of pieces of AI-created media — first posted the picture in the Crazed AI and Cursed AI groups on June 24, saying it showed a "Tesla Cybertruck Frontier Edition." The same user also reposted the image in the Midjourney Official group on June 28 with the caption, "Tesla Cybertruck: Oregon Trail edition."
Joshohoho told Snopes via Messenger that the image was created with Midjourney — a generative AI platform that allows users to create images simply by typing in text prompts.
What Is a Chuckwagon?
According to Merriam-Webster, the chuckwagon — invented in 1866 — is "a wagon carrying supplies and provisions for cooking (as on a ranch)."
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, published that Charles Goodnight invented the chuckwagon (or chuck wagon) "for use on the initial cattle drives out of Texas."
"Mess scene on 'round up,'" captured between 1887 and 1892. Cowboys eating near chuck wagon; small groups of horses and cattle in campsite. Creator: John C. H. Grabill. (Credit: Getty Images)
The museum's website continued, "On a cattle drive, the chuck wagon was as important to the drive's success as a good pair of cowboy boots were to the cowboy. With a Dutch oven and some sour dough, a chuck wagon cook could feed an entire trail crew. Biscuits and beans made up the majority of what was served on the range, but the occasional dessert did make its way onto the menu when possible."
Fact Crescendo Cambodia also previously published a fact check about this subject.
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