Tesla to start delivering long-delayed Cybertruck
Tesla’s long-delayed Cybertruck will be priced starting at $60,990, over 50% more than what CEO Elon Musk had touted in 2019 and a cost analysts said will draw select, affluent buyers.
The truck, made of shiny stainless steel and shaped into flat planes, is partly inspired by a car-turned-submarine in the 1977 James Bond movie “The Spy Who Loved Me,” Musk has said.
Its new body material and unconventional, futuristic styling has added complexity and costs to production, and threatens to alienate traditional pickup truck buyers who focus on utility, experts say.
Musk, who has priced the vehicle’s three variants between $60,990 and $99,990, said on Thursday the Cybertruck has “more utility than a truck” and is “faster than a sports car.” He drove a Cybertruck onto a stage to cheers from the crowd and later handed over vehicles to about a dozen customers at an event in Austin, Texas.
“Finally, the future will look like the future,” he said about the truck’s design, showing a video of the Cybertruck towing a Porsche 911 and beating another gasoline-powered 911 in a short race.
Musk did not announce the vehicle’s prices at the event, but Tesla’s website listed the prices. Its highest performance variant, the ‘Cyberbeast’ will be available next year, as will the all-wheel drive trim that starts at an estimated $80,000. The cheapest rear-wheel drive version with an estimated starting price of about $61,000 will be available in 2025.
After Musk estimated in 2019 that the Cybertruck would sell for $40,000, the vehicle drew more than a million reservation holders who put down $100 deposits. He had not offered an updated price before Monday, despite rising raw material costs for EVs. New deposits are $250, Musk said.
The Cybertruck, Tesla’s first new model in nearly four years, is critical to its reputation as a maker of innovative vehicles. Cybertruck is also key for generating sales, though not to the extent of the company’s high-volume Models 3 and Y.
Musk tempered investor expectations about the product last month citing problems in ramping production and warning that it would take a year to 18 months to make it a significant cash flow contributor.
He said about the truck, “It’s basically an incredibly useful truck. It’s not just some grandstanding showpiece like me.”
The Cybertruck’s longest-range version can drive an estimated 340 miles (547 km), and comes with a “range extender” or extra battery pack that extends its range to 470 miles.
In 2019, Musk had said the truck would be able to travel 500 miles or more on a single charge. Musk has said Tesla was likely to reach a production rate of roughly 250,000 Cybertrucks a year in 2025. He
During its 2019 reveal, Tesla’s chief designer Franz von Holzhausen took a metal ball to demonstrate the truck’s unbreakable “armor glass” window, only to shatter it. Holzhausen on Thursday lobbed a baseball at the Cybertruck window that bounced off.