Tesla’s Cybertruck Hits the Roads: Deliveries Commence End November After 2-Year Wait

• 19 December 2023
• Construction Focus
• 2364 Views

In a much-anticipated move, Tesla initiated deliveries of its groundbreaking Cybertruck on Thursday 30 November, officially venturing into the competitive pickup market in Austin, Texas, according to The Guardian on 1 December 2023.

Priced between US$60,990 and US$99,990 for its three variants, Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, confidently asserted that the Cybertruck offers “more utility than a truck” and boasts speeds “faster than a sports car.”

Amid cheers from an enthusiastic crowd at the Austin, Texas event, Musk personally drove a Cybertruck onto the stage and later handed over vehicles to about a dozen customers. Celebrating the distinctive futuristic design, Musk declared, “Finally, the future will look like the future,” showcasing a video where the Cybertruck effortlessly towed a Porsche 911 and outperformed another gasoline-powered 911 in a brief race.

Musk showcased the vehicle’s standout feature – an estimated 547-km range for the longest version, which can be extended to an impressive 756km with a “range extender” battery pack.

The Cybertruck’s journey from its initial polarising design reveal by Musk four years ago to its present-day deliveries marks a significant milestone. The event in Austin saw a handful of buyers driving away with the first few Cybertrucks.

Although Musk did not disclose the vehicle’s prices during the event, Tesla’s website listed the prices for its different variants. The highest-performance variant, named the ‘Cyberbeast,’ is slated for availability next year, along with the all-wheel-drive trim starting at an estimated US$80,000.

Back in 2019, Musk had tantalised potential buyers with an estimated price of US$40,000 for the Cybertruck. This led to over a million reservation holders eagerly putting down US$100 deposits. However, the actual pricing remained a mystery until the recent delivery event. Musk announced that new deposits for the Cybertruck now stand at US$250, reflecting the vehicle’s continued demand and Tesla’s innovative approach to pricing structures.

Musk reiterated Tesla’s expected production rate of around 250,000 Cybertrucks annually by 2025.

For those eyeing a more affordable option, the rear-wheel-drive version with a starting price of approximately US$61,000 is expected to hit the market in 2025.

• Business and Market
• Economy and Finance
• Technology and Engineering