Simone Giertz

Simone Giertz is a Swedish inventor, YouTuber, and roboticist known for her playful, often impractical machines. She earned the nickname "Queen of Shitty Robots" for creations like a toothbrush helmet and a breakfast-making machine. Self-taught in engineering, she built a career blending comedy, product design, and open-source sharing. Her YouTube channel has over 2.9 million subscribers, and she has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and delivered a TED talk. In 2019, her project Truckla, a Tesla converted into a pickup truck, drew widespread attention. She also runs the Yetch Store, selling original designs like a puzzle with a missing piece. As of 2026, she continues to post videos and develop new products from her workshop in Los Angeles.[edit]

Simone Giertz grew up in Stockholm, Sweden, with her parents Tomas and Kerstin Giertz and her sister Erika. She showed an early interest in building and tinkering, often taking apart household items to understand how they worked. After high school, she attended an advertising school, but her creative drive pulled her toward hands-on projects. She launched her YouTube channel in 2013, initially posting videos of her self-taught robotics experiments. Her early work involved simple circuits and motors, often resulting in devices that failed in amusing ways. The breakthrough came in August 2015 with a video of a helmet that brushed her teeth automatically. That video went viral, and she followed it with The Breakfast Machine and The Wake-up Machine in November 2015, each reaching over a million views. These early successes established her signature style: ambitious, absurd, and endearingly imperfect.[edit]

Giertz's viral momentum continued in February 2016 when Adam Savage of Tested.com noticed her lipstick robot video and invited her to collaborate. She moved to California to work on his series, which broadened her audience. In 2017, she documented her attempt to train as an astronaut, producing two of her most-watched videos. In April 2018, she was diagnosed with a noncancerous brain tumor. She shared her treatment journey with characteristic humor, and during recovery, she developed the Every Day Calendar, a habit-tracking device that raised over $500,000 on Kickstarter that year. She also created a branded video for the TV series Westworld in 2018. In June 2019, she unveiled Truckla, a Tesla Model S converted into a pickup truck with friends. The project earned her an invitation to Tesla's official Cybertruck launch event. Since 2022, she has focused on home improvement projects and running the Yetch Store, which sells items like a folding clothes hanger and a puzzle with a deliberately missing piece.[edit]

Simone Giertz is widely perceived as an approachable, humorous, and relatable inventor. Her content is characterized by innovative, often comically impractical robotic creations, interspersed with personal vlogs and product design explorations. Her tone is consistently lighthearted and self-deprecating, making engineering accessible to a broad audience. While there is no official fandom name, her followers are sometimes called "Giertzies." Fan culture celebrates her ingenuity, embraces the "shitty robot" ethos, and supports her personal journey, particularly her recovery from illness. Her social media voice is authentic and engaging, often using humor to connect.[edit]

Simone Giertz has cultivated a distinct community built on the shared appreciation for engineering humor and the deliberate embrace of failure. Her audience engages primarily through her YouTube channel where they witness the construction of machines designed to be comically ineffective rather than perfectly functional. This direct creator-to-fan dynamic lacks the hierarchical structures or formal rituals found in traditional pop culture fandoms; there are no documented fan-funded billboards, organized charity drives, or self-named sub-communities operating independently of her platforms. Instead, the collective energy manifests in the overwhelming success of her crowdfunding campaigns, such as the Kickstarter launch of the Laundry Chair, which demonstrated that her followers are willing to financially support her transition from making "shitty robots" to producing high-end design objects like the Every Day Calendar. The cultural mythology surrounding her work rests almost entirely on the title "Queen of Shitty Robots," a moniker that reframes the embarrassment of broken prototypes into a celebrated artistic statement. While her influence is substantial enough to drive viral moments and secure coverage in major tech publications, her fanbase remains a decentralized group united by a specific brand of dry wit rather than a formal organization with a unified name or agenda. Despite this large and active following, iFANN's Global Fame Engine has evaluated Simone Giertz but determined that she does not currently hold a placement in the published rankings, meaning she is not listed among the Global Top 1,000 most famous individuals nor does she appear on any Top-100 scope lists.[edit]

Simone Giertz earned the nickname "Queen of Shitty Robots" from her father, a title she later adopted alongside her fans. She is entirely self-taught in robotics and engineering, having built her career without formal academic training in the field. A diagnosis of a brain tumor led her to adopt the personal motto that life is too short to be afraid. Her content frequently features her own dogs, reflecting a strong affinity for animals. Before gaining prominence, she worked at a bakery, an early job that preceded her inventive career. Among her many creations was a robot designed to cut hair, which produced predictably uneven results. The legend of her career is anchored in the "Queen of Shitty Robots" era, where she transformed the concept of failed engineering into a viral phenomenon that changed public perception of failure in tech. More recently, the development of the Laundry Chair became a defining moment, evolving her narrative from comedy to serious product design while maintaining her signature humor. This project achieved immediate status as a "Kickstarter Smash," solidifying her reputation as an inventor who refuses to abandon ambitious projects despite budget constraints.[edit]

Simone Giertz was born to Tomas Giertz and Kerstin Giertz in Stockholm. She has a sister named Erika. She married her long-term partner Pontus in September 2021; they began dating in 2015 and became engaged in February 2020. The couple lives in Los Angeles with their dog. Giertz has described her family as supportive of her unconventional career path.[edit]

Simone Giertz collaborated with Adam Savage on Tested.com after he discovered her work in 2016. She also appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and delivered a TED talk. Her husband Pontus often appears in her videos and supports her projects.[edit]

Simone Giertz began dating Pontus in 2015. They got engaged in February 2020 and married in September 2021. As of 2026, they remain married and live together in Los Angeles. No other public relationships have been reported.[edit]

Per iFANN's editorial analysis, Simone Giertz's net worth stands at $2.4 Million as of 2026. Her financial standing is derived primarily from her YouTube channel, which generates revenue through advertising, sponsorships, and merchandise sales. Additional income streams include the Yetch Store, where she sells original designs such as the Every Day Calendar and folding hanger. Past Kickstarter campaigns and various brand collaborations further contribute to her earnings. Her wealth has grown steadily since her breakthrough in 2015, driven by the visibility gained from the Truckla project and her TED talk.[edit]