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Idaho farmer goes viral after trading in his F-250 for a Cybertruck: ‘It’s really fast’

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Idaho farmer goes viral after trading in his F-250 for a Cybertruck: ‘It’s really fast’



The internet can’t seem to get enough of Braden Smith’s TikTok videos of him using his Tesla Cybertruck to care for his 2,000-acre farm.

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When farmer Braden Smith drives his Tesla Cybertruck around Idaho Falls, Idaho, he either gets a “middle finger or the thumbs up.”

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“It’s insane because I really am a nice guy,” Smith, 34, told USA TODAY.

Smith, who is also an online content creator, has gone viral for an unlikely pairing: using the shiny, electric Cybertruck to care for his family-owned 2,000-acre farm full of wheat and potatoes instead of the typical heavy-duty pickup a farmer might typically prefer. His videos on TikTok have amassed millions of views, and he’s only had the vehicle since April.

“It’s been fun,” Smith said of owning the Cybertruck. “A lot of the times when I talk to people they’re very skeptical about it … you could literally weld all day with this thing and still be OK. It’s been good for around the farm.”

Trading an F-250 for a ‘stainless steel fridge’

Before buying the Cybertruck, Smith said he would trade in his pickup trucks quite often. In December 2023, when Smith was planning on trading in his F-250, he received an invite to configure a Cybertruck.

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Smith said he justified the purchase due to the 50 amp style plug in the back of the Cybertruck which he uses to power his welder and plasma compressor.

“I think if you itemized down everything I wanted in a pickup for the farm, I mean this fits the majority of those wants and needs,” he said. “It was just unfortunate that it kind of looks like a stainless steel fridge.”

TikTok of cats singing Queen began Braden Smith’s virality

Smith’s initial viral TikTok post was shared in May 2021 and involved a wallpaper of cats singing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The post has over 16 million views.

“It just kind of blew up,” Smith said about the viral TikTok in 2021. “We thought that was interesting so we decided to kind of ride it out and keep making content.”

Smith said he considered the video “pretty silly,” but when it “took off,” he began noticing how lucrative monetizing content could be.

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Braden Smith did not buy the Cybertruck to ‘go green’

Smith, who drives the Cybertruck every day, said he saves a lot of fuel although he did not really buy the vehicle to “go green” or save on gas.

“I mean everybody’s saying it’s so wonderful that you’re going green and everything, and then they see that my license plate reads ‘Coal Fed,’” Smith said. “They start scratching their heads.”

A small drawback Smith has with the Cybertruck is the vehicle’s towing capabilities.

While towing things with the truck has not been a huge issue for him because he lives about 40 minutes from his farm in Rexburg, he did acknowledge that the vehicle may not be able to tow heavy stuff for longer than 150 to 200 miles.

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What is the Cybertruck?

Introduced by Tesla founder Elon Musk in 2019, the Cybertruck is marketed as an electric pickup truck “built for any adventure,” according to the automotive company.

“Finally, the future will look like the future,” Musk said when he unveiled the Cybertruck during a demo in 2019.

However, the Cybetruck has had its pitfalls, as Tesla has issued several voluntary recalls since its release. The automaker recalled thousands of the trucks in June due to a windshield wiper malfunction and a trunk bed trim issue.

Other farmers may pick up on the Cybertruck

Despite the minor towing issue and perplexed looks from people in town, Smith said he enjoys the Cybertruck and the vehicle is nothing like he’s “ever driven before or had on his farm.”

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“It’s really fast (and) it’s fun to drive,” he said about the Cybertruck. “I’ll be going 60 miles an hour down one of my dirt roads and it’s just gliding.”

Cyberucks could be appealing to farmers going forward, especially when Tesla comes out with more affordable and readily available models, according to Smith.

“It’s funny because you drive down the road and everybody’s like ‘so much money,’ and yet they’re also passing King Ranch’s, Denali’s and other high spec pickups, but nobody blinks an eye,” he said. “I think it’s totally possible that other people pick up on (Cybertrucks).”



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Gov. Little signs bill ending license plate registration stickers in Idaho

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Gov. Little signs bill ending license plate registration stickers in Idaho


Gov. Brad Little has signed House Bill 533, which would remove the need for license plate stickers on Idaho vehicles.

The legislation, introduced earlier this session by Rep. Jon Weber (R) of Boise, eliminates the requirement for registration stickers on Idaho license plates. Weber stated during the bills intorduction that officers can verify the status of license plates without the stickers, potentially saving the state around $300,000.

During the bill’s introduction, some lawmakers argued that it could increase the workload for law enforcement.

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The new law is set to take effect in July.



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Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances

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Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances


For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.

“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.

The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.

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Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.

Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.

Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.

“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.

Doing so is a risk, he said.

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“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.

Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.

But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.

Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.

Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.

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“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.

The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.

House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.

Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio

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University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders

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University of Idaho professor awarded M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders


A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.

A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.

Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”

Ashley Guillard posted TikTok videos falsely linking a University of Idaho professor to the Idaho college murders, leading to a defamation lawsuit. TikTok/ashleyisinthebookoflife4

“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.

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“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”

Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.

Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.

The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.

Idaho murder victims Madison Mogen, 21, top left, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, bottom left, Ethan Chapin, 20, center, and Xana Kernodle, 20, right, and their two surviving roommates.

Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.

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Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”

The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.

Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to the savage slayings in July 2025 in a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table. AP

Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.

In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.

During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.

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The off-campus home where four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death on Nov. 17, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. James Keivom

However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.

She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.

It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.

The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.

With Post wires

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