Elon Musk hypes Tesla Cybertruck at deliveries event in Austin

Tesla
CEO
Elon
Musk
took
the
stage
to

reveal
details
about
the
company’s
new
and
unconventional
Cybertruck
pickup
on
Thursday
in
Austin,
Texas,
one
day
after
he
appeared
in
a
bizarre
interview
at
the
DealBook
Summit
in
New
York.
At
that
earlier
event,
Musk
boasted,
“It
will
be
the
biggest
product
launch
of
anything
by
far
on
Earth
this
year.”

In
a
dimly
lit
event
space
at
the
company’s
headquarters, Elon
Musk
hyped
up
the
fans
in
attendance
saying,
“What
we
have
here
is
a
better
truck
than
a
truck,
while
also
being
a
better
sports
car
than
a
sports
car
in
the
same
package.”

Musk
said
the
Cybertruck’s
hard
steel
body
was
bulletproof,
and
that
its
windows
were
“rock
proof.”
He
said
it
could
tow
over
11,000
pounds,
accelerate
from
0
to
60
miles
per
hour
in
2.6
seconds
and
features
a
“super-tough”
composite
bed
that
is
six
feet
long
and
four
feet
wide.
He
added
that
the
vehicle
would
“change
the
look
of
the
roads”
and
that
the
“future
finally
looks
like
the
future.”

The
Tesla
CEO
did
not
directly
mention
the
pricing
and
battery
range
for
the
Cybertruck.
Tesla’s
website
would
reveal
that
the
rear-wheel
drive
base
model
for
the
Cybertruck
is
now
priced
some
50%
higher
than
the
$40,000
the
company
originally
aimed
for
before
any
tax
breaks
or
other
incentives.

He
then
presented
several
“production
Cybertrucks”
to
beaming
customers
who
drove
away
in
them.

In
an
October
earnings
call,
Musk
struck
a
more
cautious
note
saying,
“There
will
be
enormous
challenges
in
reaching
volume
production
with
the
Cybertruck,
and
then
in
making
the
Cybertruck
cashflow
positive.”
He
also
said
at
that
time,
“we
dug
our
own
grave
with
Cybertruck,”
pointing
out
“unique
challenges”
in
producing
and
bringing
that
truck
to
market.

According
to
Tesla’s

website,
the
company
will
sell
its
base
model
rear-wheel
drive
version
of
the
Cybertruck
for
an
estimated
$60,990
and
a
“Cyberbeast”
version
for
$99,990,
with
deliveries
for
both
of
these
trims
starting
next
year.
Tesla
also
plans
to
sell
an
all-wheel
drive
version
of
the
Cybertruck
for
$79,900
starting
in
2025,
per
the
company
website.

The
base
model
rear-wheel
drive
Cybertruck
is
expected
to
have
a
250
mile
range
battery
and
accelerate
from
0
to
60
miles
per
hour
in
6.5
seconds,
and
the
all-wheel
drive
Cybertruck
is
expected
to
have
a
range
of
340
miles
and
go
0
to
60
miles
per
hour
in
4.1
seconds
with
a
top
speed
of
112
miles
per
hour.
The
highest-end
Cyberbeast
would
have
the
fastest
acceleration
and
a
range
of
320
miles,
estimated,
with
a
top
speed
of
130
miles
per
hour.

Tesla
first
unveiled
the
Cybertruck
—
with
its
angular
and
unpainted
hard
steel
body
—
in

November
2019.
It
had
previously
said
production
of
the
vehicle
would
start
in
2021,
and
the
truck
would
sell
at
the
entry-level
price
of
$39,900
for
a
rear-wheel
drive
version,
and
around
$69,000
for
a
highest-spec,
tri-motor
version,
which
is
far
more
affordable
than
the
prices
Tesla
listed
Thursday.

The
company
began
taking
$100
refundable
“reservations”
for
the
Cybertruck
after
it
was
unveiled,
and
the
company
said
it
received
more
than
one
million
reservations
since
its
debut.
Customers
must
now
put
down
$250
to
move
ahead
with
a
Cybertruck
order,
per
the
Tesla
website.

While
Tesla
unveiled
its
Cybertruck
design
in
2019,
it
only
began
early
Cybertruck
production
in
July
this
year.

Meanwhile,
competitors
including

Ford,

General
Motors
and

Rivian
began
to
sell
their
more
utilitarian
electric
pickups.
Earlier
this
week,
Rivian,
which
only
manufactures
battery
electric
vehicles,
similar
to
Tesla,
started
to
offer
a

leasing
option
for
select
models
of
its
all-electric
R1T
pickup
truck.

The
U.S.
electric
pickup
truck
market
has
not
expanded
as
quickly
as
some
thought
when
the
Cybertruck
was
initially
revealed.
Several
startups
have
either
now
brought
vehicles
to
market
or
did
with
little
success,
such
as
Lordstown
Motors.
Both
GM
and
Ford
have
announced
plans
to
scale
back,
postpone
or
cancel
EV
products
and
investments,
including
some
related
to
EV
trucks.