Tesla’s first electric pickup
Elon Musk backs “Brutalism” with Cybertruck
By Diana Dittmer
08/29/2023, 6:41 p.m
After years of delay, Tesla’s Cybertruck finally seems to be on the home stretch. The delivery of the first models could take place this year. Industry observers are divided: will Elon Musk’s “radical design idea” be a huge flop or the latest big craze?
The embarrassing window mishap when Tesla presented the Cybertruck for the first time in 2019 is certainly still well remembered by many. Big show, lots of fanfare, smoke, light effects, a Tesla man throws a metal ball and to his great surprise it leaves a fist-sized hole in the pickup’s supposedly unbreakable armored side window. In fact, two. Because he repeats the experiment with a second pane – with the same result. Elon Musk, who is standing on stage and watching, briefly struggles to keep his composure and then shrugs his shoulders: “At least it didn’t fly through.”
Four years later, the pick-up is finally about to start series production – a full two years late. Tesla has promised to start deliveries in the US by the end of the third quarter, i.e. by the end of September at the latest. A video and photos that have surfaced on the internet over the past few weeks are fueling the suspense. In Austin, where the Cybertruck is built, a lot has been done and improved on the Cybertruck in recent years, fans comment on the pictures. The armored panes should also have experienced an update.
What has remained the same – according to everything that has leaked out – is the strange angular design that has little in common with a traditional pick-up. The clearly recognizable wedge shape looks just as bulky and somehow impractical as four years ago – even if you’ve gotten used to the idea a bit since then. The unpainted stainless steel body may be corrosion-resistant – Elon Musk once called it an exoskeleton – but it’s at least as alien.
Industry experts agree: the design of the Cybertruck is radical, it provokes just as much as it polarises. Some may find it off-putting, but for others it’s eye-catching and a welcome change: For years, a suave Apple aesthetic has dominated the products of major tech companies in Silicon Valleyx, a Financial Times commentator wrote earlier this year. Whether it’s smartphones, smart speakers, home robots, self-driving cars, watches or other devices. Everywhere you see only smooth, rounded edges and muted colors. The “brutalism” of the Cybertruck is a relief.
The shape of the Cybertruck is attracting attention, San Levy, Barclays auto analyst, told the Wall Street Journal. And Mark Wakefield from the US management consultancy Alixpartner agrees: “It looks different than anything that has been on the market before.” In fact, that’s exactly what Musk had in mind. At the unfortunate presentation four years ago, he put it this way: “Trucks have always looked the same for 100 years. We want to do something different.” Musk definitely achieved that goal. Now all he has to do is bring the Cybertruck to the man and woman.
Niche product or the latest craze?
However, the question is: are there enough buyers for such a vehicle with a futuristic tank look? It is at least difficult to imagine that American farmers would buy a cybertruck instead of a pick-up from the traditional brands Ford, GM and Stellantis. “People are very loyal to brands,” says Alixpartner’s Mark Wakefield. “The cars are good, the teams in the corporations are great. They know what their buyers need.”
Analyst Levy describes where Tesla could succeed in snatching market share: “60 percent of pick-ups are used commercially”, here the cybertruck will hardly play a role. But with the 40 percent who drive pickups because they associate it with a certain lifestyle, Telsa could definitely score, he says. Ford CEO Martin Sander once put it this way in a television interview: “If Musk wants to produce a cybertruck for Silicon Valley, then that’s OK.” However, his group would prefer to orientate itself towards traditional buyers when it comes to design.
Jürgen Pieper from Bankhaus Metzler also has no doubts that there are buyers for the extravagant truck in the USA. “Potential buyers are on the one hand individual truckers, of which there are quite a few in the USA, and on the other hand companies that want to label themselves as particularly progressive,” he tells ntv.de. Above all, however, the Cybertruck is a new “source of growth”. He gives Tesla shareholders the necessary “imagination”. “I think Tesla is making a real design statement with this. From time to time you need such radical design ideas.”
One thing is certain: the US market is ripe for new electric vehicles. America has recently developed strongly in electromobility. In the second quarter, sales of e-cars increased by a good 40 percent compared to the same period last year. Pickup trucks are the most popular vehicle class in the United States. With increasing range, heavier vehicles are also becoming interesting for buyers. If Musk succeeds in bringing the Cybertruck to market, Tesla will enter one of the most profitable segments of the US market and at least try to compete with the electric pickups from Ford and Rivian.
the price is hot
When it comes to which buyers Musk will reach, price will certainly be a deciding factor. Musk has not revealed him yet. The information on the website, where you can reserve the Cybertruck for 100 dollars without obligation, has long since disappeared. Three tiers of the truck were originally planned, starting with an entry-level model for $39,900 through to a high-end version starting at $69,900. Musk has been demonstrating for months how he successfully secures market share through competitive prices. He always emphasizes that he also accepts a drop in profitability for growth.
The competition seems to expect competitive prices. Ford lowered the price of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup by $10,000 in early July. The model now costs 49,995 US dollars in a simple version.
The only thing standing between the Cybertruck and its launch is Musk himself. Delays are always priced in with him. He himself recently fueled doubts with an internal email in which he allegedly complained about the poor quality of the vehicle. According to consistent US media reports, he found the distances between various components unacceptable. “Due to the nature of the Cybertruck, which is light-colored metal with mostly straight edges, variations in dimensions are disconcerting,” he wrote, according to CNBC. “If Lego and soda cans, which are very cheap, can do it, so can we.”
“The unique design of the Cybertruck requires a high degree of precision in the production process for Tesla,” says Konstantin Oldenburger from CMC Markets ntv.de. This includes the risk of being able to meet the expectations of series production in a timely manner. But in the end, the Cybertruck stands for one thing above all: “for the topic of innovation, with which Tesla keeps making headlines and keeps investors and fans happy”. Some would probably wait even longer for the big reveal.