Why We Built Frunkly: From Frustrating Roadside Lunches to a Real Product
The accidental origin story of the Tesla frunk table
I never planned to build a product. I'm a software developer, not a product designer. But in spring 2023, I was traveling with my Model 3 and kept running into the same problem: bringing a table along was awkward - it barely fit in the car, and setting it up and packing it away every time was annoying. I just wanted to stop spontaneously and have a surface ready immediately. And I thought: there has to be a better way to do this.
The Problem That Kept Showing Up
It wasn't just that one moment. Every road trip surfaced the same frustration. Tesla frunks are uniquely useful spaces - clean, weatherproof, accessible. But they're essentially deep boxes. Great for storage, terrible for anything else.
I watched other Tesla owners at Superchargers doing the same awkward dance: food balanced on car hoods, laptops propped on whatever surface they could find, coffee cups wedged in door handles. It felt like we were all living with the same small annoyance and just accepting it.
The frunk could be so much more. It just needed a proper surface.
The first prototype - functional, but too complicated
The First Attempt
My first prototype was ambitious. Rails, adjustable brackets, multiple locking positions. It worked - but installation took too long and required tools. Not practical for a quick charging stop.
I showed it to my girlfriend. She looked at it, looked at the frunk, and asked: 'Why doesn't it just fold out? Like a hinge?'
Sometimes the simplest question reveals what you've been overcomplicating. A hinge. Of course.
The Redesign
Starting over hurt, but the hinge concept unlocked everything. The table could mount permanently, fold flat when closed, and flip up when needed. No tools. No assembly. No parts to lose.
I went through dozens of hinge designs. Too flimsy. Too stiff. Doesn't stay open. Doesn't stay closed. The final design uses a friction hinge that holds any angle - enough resistance to support weight, smooth enough to adjust with one hand.
The table surface took equally long. Birch multiplex with eucalyptus veneer turned out to be the sweet spot - lightweight, strong, food-safe, and sustainably sourced. The mounting system went through at least fifteen iterations before finding one that installs in under a minute and holds rock-solid.
"The best ideas aren't complicated. They're obvious - once someone shows them to you."
The Norway Test
In summer 2023, we drove from Germany to the Lofoten Islands in Norway. Two weeks, thousands of kilometers, and the prototype mounted in our frunk the entire time.
Every Supercharger stop became a test. Breakfast at a fjord overlook. Lunch at a rest area. Laptop work while charging. The table held up. More importantly, it changed how we traveled. Stops became moments to enjoy instead of time to endure.
We got questions at almost every charging station. 'Where did you get that?' 'Can I buy one?' 'Does it really work?' By the end of the trip, I knew this wasn't just solving my problem.
From Prototype to Product
The Norway trip confirmed the concept. Now came the hard part: making it reproducible.
Sourcing materials. Getting the packaging small enough to ship affordably. Each step revealed problems I hadn't anticipated.
I decided early to make everything myself in Germany. The wood comes from certified sustainable sources. The aluminum components are made in Germany. Everything is assembled by hand in Hamburg.
Somewhere on the road to Lofoten
The First Orders
In October 2023, the Series 1 was ready - versions for Model 3 and Model Y. Launching was terrifying. I'd spent months on something that solved my problem - but would anyone else care?
The first orders came from the Tesla owner community. Forums, social media, word of mouth. People who had experienced the same roadside lunch frustration and immediately understood what Frunkly offered.
The feedback refined everything. Customers suggested improvements I hadn't considered. Some asked for features that became standard. Others pointed out edge cases my testing missed. The product got better because people used it and told me what worked.
A Note on Pricing
I've been asked why Frunkly isn't cheaper. The honest answer: quality materials, European manufacturing, and small-batch production have costs. I could use cheaper materials and offshore manufacturing to hit a lower price point - but the product would be worse. I'd rather make something that lasts and works well than compete on price with products that don't.
What I've Learned
Building a physical product as a software person taught me things I didn't expect:
Simple is hard. The simpler a product looks, the more iteration it took to get there. Every 'obvious' design choice came from eliminating dozens of alternatives.
Users know things you don't. The people using your product daily will find problems and possibilities you never imagined. Listen to them.
Small details matter. The angle of a corner, the sound of a hinge, the feel of a surface - these things don't show in photos but shape the actual experience.
Shipping is a product, too. How something arrives, how easy it is to unbox, how clear the instructions are - that's all part of what you're selling.
Frunkly exists because I got frustrated with bad roadside lunches. It grew because other people shared that frustration. And it keeps improving because customers tell me how to make it better.
The Result
Frunkly LT
From that first frustrating Supercharger stop to a product used by Tesla owners across Europe. This is what we make.
View Product
What's Next
Frunkly launched in October 2023 with the Series 1 table. In April 2024, the LT followed - faster production enabled a lower price, and setup became even simpler. In April 2025, the LTX arrived with a larger, foldable tabletop for more workspace. Each version incorporates what we've learned from customers.
I'm still a software developer. Frunkly is still a small operation based in Hamburg. But every time I see a photo of someone using their table at a beautiful location - breakfast by a lake, laptop at a mountain pass, coffee at a Supercharger - I remember why I built it.
The best products solve real problems. Usually small ones that nobody else notices. I noticed mine, and I'm glad I did something about it.
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