(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] Cybertruck, arguably the most anticipated,
and controversial pickup truck today.
Despite having yet to be released,
Tesla's long awaited pickup EV,
has already divided public opinion.
- If you're a farmer,
where the heck you go charge this thing?
- This Cybertruck, to me seems like a stillborn.
I just think it's gonna be a bit of a bust.
- That is the coolest vehicle I've ever seen,
in person in my life.
- I want one, I think they're nuts,
and I think it would be a lot of fun to drive a tank.
- The Cybertruck is polarizing.
I haven't found many people who feel so so,
about the Cybertruck.
- The Cybertruck looks like it was intentionally
designed to look like nothing else on the market.
- It's a provocative vehicle.
It's radical, unprecedented.
- [Narrator] With the vehicle's first deliveries,
now expected by the end of the year,
it remains unclear just who the Cybertruck is for.
Will it compete with established heavyweights,
like Ford, GM and Stellantis, the maker of Ram trucks?
Or does Tesla hope to carve out a new niche,
within the nascent pickup EV sector?
The Cybertruck was first unveiled to the world in 2019.
- It was one of these classic Tesla product reveals.
- Like a hundred years,
trucks have been basically the same.
We want to try something different.
- [Rebecca] Where Elon Musk debuted what the company
expected the Cybertruck to look like.
- [Narrator] Famously, a demonstration of the truck's
bulletproof windows failed.
(rock smashes)
- Oh, my (bleeps) God.
Well, maybe that was a little too hard.
- Tesla's Cybertruck unveiling became somewhat legendary.
- Try that one, really?
Okay. - [Elon] Sure.
(rock smashes)
Oh, man, it didn't go through.
Little room for improvement. (laughs)
You know, just fix it in post.
- [Narrator] From that calamitous launch,
years of delays followed.
- Nobody had brought an all electric pickup,
to the market at that point.
Elon Musk later talked about targeting,
first deliveries to customers in 2021.
That, of course, didn't happen.
- [Narrator] The Cybertruck's release,
was pushed back to late 2022 then to late 2023.
- Tesla has a track record,
of promising something and not getting up to it,
but then delivering enough surprise,
and delight and enough features,
and enough innovation that people want to experience that.
- [Narrator] In recent months,
pre-production vehicles have been spotted in public,
and in July, Tesla said it had begun
making pre-production versions of the truck.
Tesla now expects to deliver its first Cybertrucks,
to customers later this year and ramp up production in 2024.
Tesla hasn't shared the number of pre-orders,
for the Cybertruck, but in a recent earnings call,
Musk was bullish on consumer interest.
- [Elon] The demand is so far off the the hook,
you can't even see the hook, so that's really not an issue.
- Tesla's very confident in the volumes,
for the next few years to hit their initial ramps
and so I think people are betting that yes,
the first few years looks like it'll be strong,
and looks like it'll be the demand will be there,
if they can build them.
- [Narrator] But the Cybertruck success,
is far from assured.
Despite being the world's EV leader, it remains unclear,
if Tesla can compete in the most lucrative sector,
of America's automotive industry.
For decades, Ford, GM and Stellantis,
which makes RAM trucks, have dominated the highly
competitive market for non EV pickups.
- How important is the pickup sector,
for the Detroit three?
Critical.
This accounts for almost all of their profitability.
You have three players, in Ford, GM
and Stellantis that account for over 90% of the market.
- [Narrator] Another challenge for Tesla,
is the enduring brand loyalty of many pickup owners.
- So you've seen people stay very,
very loyal though because those trucks are great,
and the teams inside those companies are really impressive.
They are laser focused,
on their truck customers and they know them deeply.
- [Announcer] The people who build this country...
(engine revs)
- [Mark] They give them a ton of different options,
and ability to have the truck exactly fit their lifestyle.
- [Narrator] When Ford and GM unveiled
their electric pickups, they stuck relatively closely,
to their classic pickup designs.
Recently, Ford's, CEO Jim Farley took aim at Musk,
and the Cybertruck arguing that the vehicle
wasn't targeted at traditional pickup owners.
- And, we know those customers better than anyone.
And if he wants to design a Cybertruck,
for Silicon Valley people, fine.
- [Narrator] Since the Cybertruck
is such a radical departure,
from the conservative world of US pickups,
could it prove too dramatic a design,
to tap into such a traditional market?
- We think 60% of large pickup usage,
is for commercial purposes.
So Tesla might try to appeal there,
but we think actually where it will benchmark,
or compete most is as a lifestyle leisure type vehicle.
Think an F150 Raptor.
- The target market for the Cybertruck looks much more
retail oriented than a all things,
to all people of the traditional markets.
The type of a truck buyer that would use their vehicle,
for work a lot also looks more oriented,
to the usability of the bed and the usability of the bed,
with the high buttresses and the arches on the side,
looks like that might impede on some of the usefulness.
- [Narrator] With its cyberpunk like design,
the Cybertruck clearly breaks the mold,
of a traditional pickup.
The vehicle has drawn comparisons,
to the DeLorean in the movie, "Back to the Future,"
the submarine from the film, "The Spy Who Loved Me,"
and even Apple's 1980s desktop bus mouse.
- [Dan] You look at this vehicle,
this is something that you, you haven't seen before.
It catches your attention,
whether good or bad, it catches your attention.
- [Mark] But it was surprised by how different it was
from the prior Teslas that were very sleek and swoopy.
And it's interesting because,
the Model S looked intentionally designed,
to be a beautiful vehicle that you wouldn't necessarily
know was an ev.
And the Cybertruck looks like it was intentionally designed
to look like nothing else on the market.
- [Narrator] Tesla claims on its website,
that the Cybertruck will have seating for six,
unpainted stainless steel body panels,
and supposedly, armored glass windows.
Tesla also says the Cybertruck will have a payload capacity,
of up to 3,500 pounds.
That's more payload capacity than Ford's F150 Lightning,
Rivian's R1T and GM's Silverado EV.
When it was unveiled in 2019,
Tesla said three versions would be available,
a rear drive, single motor, dual motor,
and a new tri motor with two motors on the rear axle.
But many basic questions remain like the price.
In 2019, the single dual and trim motor vehicles,
were listed at $39,900, $49,900,
and $69,900 respectively.
- At the time, pickup trucks in the US averaged
about 50,000, but it's widely expected,
that the Cybertruck will end up costing more than that.
- [Narrator] Today, the average price,
for a full-size pickup is more than $59,000.
- Among the biggest unknowns about the Cybertruck,
are when customers will be able to get their hands on one.
That timeline has been pushed back a number of times,
so we'll see whether Tesla sticks to it.
- [Narrator] Tesla along with other automakers,
has tried to spur demand for its electric models,
by slashing prices across its lineup.
In response, Ford cut prices of the base model,
of its EV pickup by almost $10,000.
- I think it's more important about
just a continuation of hits.
Is it going to be a hit and less on the cashflow element,
and more on the, do they still have it?
Type of a question that investors may have.
- What it's doing for Tesla, regardless of whether
it's going to be well received or not well received,
is it draws awareness.
This is a company that has done very well,
at drawing awareness, creating brand value,
without spending advertising dollars.
Yes, it's very possible that the will not be well received,
but it's also possible, that people may see the Cybertruck
and say, that's not a vehicle for me, but this Tesla,
they're doing interesting things.
I wanna explore the possibility,
of buying a Model 3, Model Y or the next gen vehicle,
the Model 2, which we refer to when that comes out.
(gentle music)