![Tesla makes first deliveries of long-awaited and controversial Cybertruck](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/107341586-1701377473094-AP23334668414526.jpg?v=1701377640&w=750&h=422&vtcrop=y)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk took the stage to reveal details concerning the company’s recent and unconventional Cybertruck pickup on Thursday in Austin, Texas, someday after he appeared in a bizarre interview at the DealBook Summit in Latest York. At that earlier event, Musk boasted, “It would be the most important product launch of anything by far on Earth this yr.”
In a dimly lit event space at the corporate’s headquarters, Elon Musk overvalued the fans in attendance saying, “What we have now here’s a higher truck than a truck, while also being a greater sports automotive than a sports automotive in the identical 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 kilos, speed up from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.6 seconds and encompasses a “super-tough” composite bed that’s six feet long and 4 feet wide. He added that the vehicle would “change the look of the roads” and that the “future finally looks like the longer term.”
The Tesla CEO did indirectly 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 corporate 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 shall be enormous challenges in reaching volume production with the Cybertruck, after which in making the Cybertruck cashflow positive.” He also said at that point, “we dug our own grave with Cybertruck,” stating “unique challenges” in producing and bringing that truck to market.
![Elon Musk unveils the Tesla Cybertruck](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/107341574-17013765571701376553-32252757303-1080pnbcnews.jpg?v=1701376556&w=750&h=422&vtcrop=y)
In response to Tesla’s website, the corporate 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 each of those trims starting next yr. Tesla also plans to sell an all-wheel drive version of the Cybertruck for $79,900 starting in 2025, per the corporate website.
The bottom model rear-wheel drive Cybertruck is anticipated to have a 250 mile range battery and speed up from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6.5 seconds, and the all-wheel drive Cybertruck is anticipated to have a spread 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 very best-end Cyberbeast would have the fastest acceleration and a spread 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 much cheaper than the costs Tesla listed Thursday.
The corporate began taking $100 refundable “reservations” for the Cybertruck after it was unveiled, and the corporate said it received multiple million reservations since its debut. Customers must now put down $250 to maneuver 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 yr.
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, just like Tesla, began 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, comparable to Lordstown Motors. Each GM and Ford have announced plans to cut back, postpone or cancel EV products and investments, including some related to EV trucks.
Tesla shares closed lower Thursday by about 2% and were flat after hours.
— CNBC’s Mike Wayland contributed to this report.
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