The Tesla Cybertruck has finally attracted its first group of buyers, four years after it made its debut. Elon Musk said at a grandiose celebration held at the business’s Austin, Texas, headquarters that the vehicle will bring about a new and exciting era for the company. About a dozen individuals received the truck during the event.
Additionally, the business released revised information regarding the truck’s features, cost, and range, most of which differ greatly from the previously disclosed figures. The price of the electric vehicle with rear-wheel drive, which was originally listed at $39,900 in 2019, has increased to $60,990. It can go 250 miles on a single charge. It won’t be feasible to get that version until 2025.
The dual-motor and tri-motor “Cyberbeast” variants should arrive sooner—Tesla’s order website indicates optimistically 2024. The AWD Cybertruck has a starting price of $79,990, a 340-mile range, a 4.1-second 0-60 mph time, and a peak speed of 112 mph. Furthermore, the tri-motor model costs $99,990, generates an absurd 8,45 horsepower and 10,296 lb-ft of torque, and has a range of about 320 miles.
Musk asked Tesla Chief Designer Franz Von Holzhausen to recreate the ill-fated window strength demonstration from 2019—in which he used a ball bearing to break the ostensibly armor-plated glass—during the event. He threw a baseball again, not very well, I may say, but this time the glass stopped the ball.
It was a rather brief gathering for a Tesla party. Compared to the 2019 Cybertruck launch, there didn’t seem to be as many people present. Musk swiftly declared the event to be finished after going over some of the characteristics, including as the truck’s impenetrable shell and some of its performance capabilities. He then assisted a dozen or so of the first customers in getting their vehicles driven off.
It may have been intentional to leave out the pricing given that the figures were obviously far less alluring than what we saw in 2019. Having said that, users will like the acceleration and towing features.
Fans of Tesla have always been captivated by the angular, stainless steel electric vehicle, but due to several delays, some have begun to wonder if the truck would ever materialize. The manufacturer claims that the production has been quite difficult, primarily as a result of the decision to employ exceptionally hard stainless steel for the outside. More complexity was added to the project when Musk demanded that the vehicle be bulletproof.
Another bone of contention has been the divisive design. Sharp angles and a polygonal design were intended to convey Tesla’s lack of interest in entering the conventional truck industry. Because of this, some analysts believe the Cybertruck will serve more as the company’s halo car, enticing buyers to choose its more useful (and readily accessible) models, such as the Model 3 and Y.
In fact, Musk tried to “temper expectations” in the lead-up to the event by informing investors that the Cybertruck wouldn’t begin to provide “positive cash flow” for the business for at least a year or eighteen months. According to Tesla, it plans to start making 250,000 trucks a year by 2025, although the production ramp would be quite challenging.
During an October earnings call, Musk stated that “demand was off the charts,” citing the fact that more than a million customers had already placed a $100 refundable deposit to get a Cybertruck. However, he also acknowledged that the business could have taken on more than it could handle. “We used the Cybertruck to dig our own grave,” he declared. “You know, nobody digs a grave better than themselves—probably not in general.”
Now that it’s out there, a lot of attention will shift to Tesla’s manufacturing and how soon it can deliver these cars to customers. Its performance against other electric trucks, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T, will also be scrutinized as it is a recent addition to the fiercely competitive truck industry.
However, given that Tesla isn’t anticipated to produce many, at least not initially, such concerns could be irrelevant. Many truck buyers are likely to be turned off by the divisive design. Furthermore, despite its attractive aspect, fewer early adopters and tech enthusiasts are interested in purchasing a massive polygon on wheels now that it has arrived amid a cooling market for electric vehicles.
The Cybertruck has the potential to be a big sales success. Even yet, it will not even come close to selling as many trucks as Ford, Chevy, and other companies do. Even for a man who has gained some notoriety for making strange decisions, Musk’s decision to plunge headfirst into the very profitable but fiercely competitive truck business with a contentious design and challenging production process sounds strange.
In recent decades, the industry has mostly moved toward larger vehicles; some of the best-selling models are trucks in particular. They are produced in large quantities, sold in large quantities, and the firms keep the profits. It doesn’t appear like Tesla will profit from the Cybertruck in the same way.
