Tesla Cybertruck’s Battle For The Future
It doesn’t look like anything else.
Elon Musk said that casually during the Cybertruck’s unveiling in October 2019.
He’s not wrong. Part tank, part pick-up, the Cybertruck shocked a lot of people. Whether you were awed and thought it was cool, disturbed, or hideous, we can all agree that its outrageous design was at the very least electrifying.
Though not every aspect of the presentation went as planned, with the armored glass shattering on stage, the biggest surprise outside of the design was the low price point. Despite the wave of criticism Elon Musk received about the Cybertruck’s design, he released a statement via Twitter stating that pre-orders have already exceeded 250,000.
Why this Matters?
If those numbers reflect the same breakdown he announced at 146,000, then 42% of the orders chose a dual motor, 41% chose the tri-motor option, and 17% opting for the single motor model. That equates to over $5 billion in dual motor pre-orders, $7 billion in tri-motors, and $1.7 billion in single motor Cybertrucks. This is, of course, assuming all pre-orders result in sales. With nearly $14 billion in pending sales from the pre-orders alone, the Cybertruck might be a game-changer.
The Cybertruck doesn’t just challenge the aesthetic status-quo, but the nature of durable construction and performance as well. It boasts a stainless steel exoskeleton, armor glass, and the ability to out-pull an F-150 and out-run a Porsche 911. Though, many Ford fans rushed to the F-150’s defense pointing out that it was a rear-wheel drive model.
Elon Musk has agreed to a rematch with Ford whenever they are ready. But considering all this and zero emissions, the potential impact of the Cybertruck is very real. According to Statista, in 2019, the sale of pickup trucks is expected to reach 2,721,800. Pickup trucks have been notorious for higher C02 emissions than cars, and the sheer number of vehicles on the road makes them America’s largest C02 producer.
Food for Thought
It goes without saying that if Tesla’s Cybertruck can prove the skeptics wrong, and take a foothold in the American pickup truck market, it can have a huge impact on reducing overall emissions. Even if the primary accomplishment of the Cybertruck is to encourage other pickup truck manufacturers to begin making more EVs, the end result is the same.
So what do you think of the Cybertruck? Is it the next stage in the evolutionary chain for pickup truck design and engineering or will the design choice be its downfall?
This article was originally published on Etekly.
