Love them or hate them, Tesla Cybertrucks garner a whole lot of attention, and apparently, one guy who bought his stainless steel behemoth didn’t realize that. A Cybertruck owner in Portland, Maine – one of the more liberal and chill cities in America – has been bombarded with reactions (both good and bad) to his new truck, and he’s not really a fan.

Right now, Travis Carter owns one of just two Cybertrucks in all of Maine, so he’s become a bit of a spectacle in his hometown, and not always in a good way, according to the Portland Press Herald.

Tennis players stop midswing to get a glimpse of it. Children want their pictures taken with it. It’s a trending topic online in the Portland subreddit.

On the road, the electric vehicle is the frequent recipient of middle fingers, thumbs-downs and slammed-on brakes. People gawk, roll their eyes and yell. It’s gotten spat on and been scratched.

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Carter tells the paper he has never been a fan of the limelight, somehow forgetting what sort of attention a massive, angular truck would garner him. The marijuana dispensary owner says buying the Cybertruck “wasn’t an attention-seeking move” and that he’s actually quite “shy.” Carter says that it’s quite a weird experience when you pull up to a stoplight and every single person is staring at you. I’m sure it is, man.

Despite this distaste for the limelight, Carter is reportedly taking the attention in stride… for the most part.

He tries to let the negative ones roll off his back. He knows there’s no such thing as bad publicity for a business such as his Forest Avenue marijuana shop, where the truck is prominently parked most days.

Carter loves the thing but still questions whether the hot wheels are worth all the attention. If he had to go back and click “place order” again, he’s not sure he would.

“I didn’t know it was going to turn into this. I’m sometimes like, ‘What did I do?’” he said. “But sometimes it’s positive, too. I take the time to talk to people, because some people are genuinely excited to see it.”

Here’s more reaction from folks in Portland, Maine after first seeing a Cybertruck in their little city that were fairly tame, from the Portland Press Herald:

“The aliens have landed,” someone wrote about Carter’s truck on Reddit’s Portland forum, just after he returned from picking it up at a New Jersey Tesla facility.

When he first started driving it here, passersby seemed stunned.

When he first started driving it “In the first week or two, people were hanging out of their cars taking videos, even in the pouring rain,” Carter said., passersby seemed stunned.

As Carter drove up Forest Avenue through Deering Oaks Park on Thursday, a jaywalking woman stopped in the middle of an intersectionfacing oncoming traffic. Her jaw dropped. Carter came to a halt. He sighed – it was nothing new.

Things quickly turned less than cordial for Carter and his truck.

Some of the shock value has worn off. But anger has taken its place.

Carter once found a large, fresh glob of spit on the car when it was parked in downtown Portland. As he pulled up to a stop sign Wednesday, someone started yelling at him. A driver in front of him once slammed on the brakes.

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What’s his most frequent reaction?

“The middle finger,” he said. “In passing, at red lights, people walking by.”

[…]

He feels like maybe the anger’s easing, but he still gets plenty of eye rolls.

The owner of Vice Cannabis put down a $100 deposit for the Cybertruck all the way back in November of 2019 and eventually forgot about it as the truck famously got delayed more and more. Then, at the beginning of this year, the Portland Press Herald says it popped back up on his radar and he decided to go through with the purchase after a little it of hesitation.

He knew the truck would be an eye-catcher in Maine. But he wanted it for its uniqueness.

“It’s so ugly it’s cute. It’s like a French bulldog,” he said. “I don’t think it’s the most attractive car in the world, but it’s different. And I like to be different.”

Anyway, you should head over to the Portland Press Herald’s story for more information on what Carter is doing now and why he thinks people have such a visceral reaction to his truck (hint: it’s because of Elon Musk).

Adjusted gross receipts from sports betting in April was comfortably higher than $2.7m in March. Incidentally, March’s total was the lowest monthly amount since Maine launched legal sports wagering in November last year.

Maine calculates adjusted gross receipts by subtracting voided and cancelled bets, federal excise tax and player winnings from handle. Void bets in April totalled $173,638, with federal excise tax at $93,326, and player winnings $33.9m.

The revenue increase came despite a 19.5% drop in total handle to $38.3m. Players in Maine wagered $47.6m in March, a monthly record for the state.

DraftKings out in front in Maine

At present, sports betting is only available through two licensed operators in Maine: Caesars and DraftKings. To date, DraftKings has eclipsed Caesars, drawing significantly more wagers and turning a much higher revenue.

In April, DraftKings, partnered with the Passamaquoddy tribe, generated $3.8m in adjusted gross receipts. This came after players wagered $31.6m through the partnership.

Turning to Caesars, the operator is working with three Wabanaki nations: the Houlton band of Maliseet Indians, Mi’kmaq nation and Penobscot nation. Caesars posted $342,841 in adjusted gross receipts during April from $6.7m in bets.

As for the calendar year to date, adjusted gross receipts in Maine for the four months to April stands at $16.5m. Players have wagered a total of $157.8m.

Maine misses out on online casino

Despite the recent introduction of legal sports betting, Maine had no such success in also launching online casino.

Talks were ongoing with tribes to roll out online casino in the state, with a bill having been put forward to pave the way to a legal market.

However, last month, the bill was declared all-but dead. In an unusual move, after the bill tribes failed to pass the house, it was still moved over to the senate. A day later, the senate declined to pass the proposal and then voted to table the issue.

This meant it could technically revisit the bill before the end of the session. However, the bill eventually died between houses in mid-April.

SEARSPORT, Maine (WABI) – Community members from the town of Searsport gathered at the community building this evening to hear what offshore wind could do for their community.

The Searsport Workforce Development event invited the public for conversations surrounding union jobs, workforce training opportunities and discussions around economic development.

When it comes to offshore wind many worry about where it gets cited.

The director of policy for the Maine Labor Climate council said that part of the project is out of their control due to separate processes through the federal government and the state.

However he wants communities to understand no matter where the port is, it can benefit the workforce of Maine.

“We have a fantastic opportunity in the state of Maine to really give a brand new birth to an industry in the mid-coast and to do it with union wages and benefits for all workers who work on it whether they’re union or not,” said Scott Cuddy.

“We’re talking about an opportunity that we haven’t seen before in the state of Maine.”

The meeting had knowledgeable panelists to answer any questions community members may have.

To keep up with offshore wind progress in Maine you can head to the Maine Offshore Wind Initiative website.

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