Four years after Elon Musk unveiled it with billowing clouds of smoke, fireballs, and a failed demonstration of its shatter-resistant windows, Tesla finally made the first deliveries of its alien Cybertruck.
Standing in the bed of the stainless steel-clad electric pickup truck, which has been mired by production delays and skepticism about its design and everyday utility, Musk called the Cybertruck “the most unique thing on the road” but promised which “is actually very useful.”
“It's not just a great masterpiece like me,” he said during Thursday's award event, which was broadcast live on X, formerly Twitter.
With the launch, Tesla has entered an extremely competitive truck market dominated by Ford's F Series, a reliable workhorse that has been the country's best-selling truck for 46 consecutive years and the best-selling vehicle for 41 years.
Musk has tried to differentiate his rugged truck from its rivals, starting with a radically angular and polarizing appearance and much-hyped features like bullet- and arrow-proof doors and “armored glass” windows.
This “apocalyptic technology,” as Musk called it, has led some analysts to question whether the pickup truck, which starts at $60,990, could ever achieve mainstream success like Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y have done. .
The Cybertruck, which Musk boasted has the handling and speed of a sports car, has a towing capacity of 11,000 pounds, a maximum payload of 2,500 pounds and an estimated range of 340 miles.
“We have a car here that the experts said was impossible, that the experts said would never be made,” Musk said. “Finally, the future will look like the future.”
During the half-hour presentation, Tesla redid its infamous window trick from the Cybertruck's debut four years ago, when lead designer Franz von Holzhausen threw a steel ball into the truck's front window to demonstrate its durability. It shattered, as did the rear window on a second attempt.
This time, the window remained intact, although it appeared that the steel ball had been exchanged for a baseball.
Deliveries of the Cybertruck were initially estimated to begin in late 2021. Its long delay means Tesla is now playing catch-up.
When Tesla's CEO first unveiled the Cybertruck at an event in Hawthorne, no all-electric pickup trucks were being shipped to customers. Today there are a few, with several more models from big automakers and electric startups on the way.
In late 2021, Rivian became the first automaker to bring an all-electric truck to the consumer market with its R1T, ahead of Ford's F-150 Lightning, which launched in spring 2022.
Despite putting its first Cybertrucks into circulation, Tesla will continue to face bigger challenges Musk manufactures the vehicle in high volumes and is unlikely to be able to produce 250,000 a year until 2025.
Tesla hasn't revealed how many people paid $100 deposits to get on the waiting list, but Musk said last year that the Austin, Texas, automaker had “more orders for the first Cybertrucks than we could fill in the next few years.” three years after the start of production.”
“Scaling up Cybertruck production will be difficult,” Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in a note to investors after Thursday's event. “Musk and Co. do not expect to be cash flow positive with this vehicle for 12 to 18 months (could be longer in our opinion).”
Still, the truck's launch “is important to Tesla's broader growth story in the coming years and will also demonstrate to skeptics that Musk can successfully expand Tesla's halo effect as more consumers go down the road.” of electric vehicles.”
Thursday's Cybertruck event came a day after Musk, who has been facing accusations of anti-Semitism, appeared at the New York Times' DealBook Summit conference.
During an onstage interview, he apologized for a tweet he made this month that appeared to publicly endorse a notorious anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.
“I'm so sorry,” he said. “In hindsight, I shouldn't have responded to that particular post.”
But he was less contrite when asked about the ensuing pushback from advertisers, including Disney, Apple, IBM and Lionsgate Entertainment.
“Don't advertise,” he told advertisers who have fled social media platform X, which he owns.
“If someone is going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money?” he continued. “Fuck off. Is it clear?”
