Increases with a two-year delay Tesla entered the highly competitive pickup market with the start of sales of its Cybertruck. “The future finally looks like the future,” said the CEO Elon Musk (52) late Thursday evening about the truck’s design. The Cybertruck is “more useful than a truck” and “faster than a sports car,” he explained in a video in which the Cybertruck first appeared Porsche 911 tows and then beats another gasoline-powered 911 in a short race. “Basically, it’s an incredibly useful truck. It’s not just a showpiece like me.”
Cheapest variants around $21,000 more expensive than advertised
According to the US car manufacturer, the cheapest version of the futuristic-looking electric pickup costs $60,990 (55,900 euros). That’s significantly more than the $40,000 that Musk had promised when the vehicle was presented in 2019. The most powerful “Cyberbeast” variant and versions with all-wheel drive will go to customers starting next year at starting prices of $100,000 and $80,000, as can be read on the US carmaker’s website. From 2025, customers will have to shell out around $61,000 for an electric pickup with rear-wheel drive.
When introducing the vehicle in 2019, Tesla chief designer Franz von Holzhausen (55) wanted to demonstrate the vehicle’s unbreakable bulletproof glass by throwing a metal ball at the truck’s window, which then shattered. On Thursday, Holzhausen threw a baseball against the window of the Cybertruck, which bounced off.
The Cybertruck competes with the $50,000 F-150 Lightning from ford, the R1T from Rivian Automotive with a starting price of $73,000 and the larger and more powerful Hummer EV at over $96,000 from General Motors. The vehicle looks completely different than traditional pickup trucks. This was criticized or ridiculed by some car design experts. The unusual angular shape is because the steel alloy developed especially for the vehicle is so hard that it can only be bent to a limited extent, emphasized Musk. “We have a car here that experts said was impossible, that it would never be built.” Only on the market will it become clear whether American pickup buyers want a vehicle with this unusual shape – or whether they prefer the classic look. (Read the analysis here of what the success of the Cybertruck depends on.)
The Cybertruck is Tesla’s first new model in almost four years. Just a few weeks ago, Musk had dampened investors’ expectations and pointed to problems with increasing production. “We dug our own grave with the Cybertruck,” he said recently. He warned that it would take a year to 18 months for the vehicle to make a significant contribution to the group’s cash flow.
According to Musk’s previous information, Tesla should reach a production rate of around 250,000 Cybertrucks per year in 2025. Due to the new technology and design, the company faces enormous challenges in reaching series production. Potential buyers can still be put on the waiting list: The Cybertruck has already received more than a million reservations with a deposit of $100. New deposits are $250. Tesla shares fell 2 percent in after-hours trading.