These Hackers Are Building Insane Custom Cars... With A.I. and 3D Printers

Summary

Bloomberg’s Ashlee Vance visits the Mojave Desert to see Hack Rod, a venture led by hot-rod builder Mouse McCoy and former Mattel executive Felix Hol. The team aims to combine car-building culture with data, AI, and new manufacturing methods to create custom vehicles.

Hack Rod’s process begins by collecting detailed test data. Cars are fitted with sensors, race courses are mapped in 3D, and drivers wear brainwave monitors to track stress. The team feeds vehicle and test data into AI design software, along with human-set guidelines. The software generates a design that can be built using 3D printing. Test results are then fed back into the process to refine the next version.

The team’s first vehicle built using this approach, the Mule, was tested extensively over three days. Hack Rod plans to use the resulting data to develop Mule 2.0. McCoy and Hol argue that software and modern manufacturing could help a small team design a car from scratch much faster than traditional development, while making individual vehicle design more accessible and less dependent on corporate styling decisions. Hack Rod hopes to become a significant force in the future of automated manufacturing.

Main Speakers and Sources

• Ashlee Vance — Bloomberg reporter and narrator
• Mouse McCoy — Hack Rod founder and hot-rod builder
• Felix Hol — Hack Rod co-founder; formerly oversaw Hot Wheels and Matchbox at Mattel