A message was delivered in the early morning that is likely to reassure Tesla fans. The electric vehicle maker might deliver on its promise to start producing the Cybertruck later this year, a commitment made by Elon Musk during the automaker's quarterly results on Jan. 25.
The billionaire has delivered the latest update on the operations around this highly anticipated vehicle, which will be produced at the Tesla factory in Austin, Texas.
"Walked whole Cybertruck production line at Giga Texas for several hours earlier today,” Musk wrote on Twitter at around 2:40 am Eastern time on April 2.
The CEO, who is also the unofficial head of marketing and promotion of Tesla products, then added three words that may further fuel the excitement surrounding the Cybertruck, which has been building up for almost four years when it was revealed to the general public during a event in Los Angeles in 2019.
"Gonna be awesome!” Musk said.
'The Future'
He then raised the expectations around the Cyrbertruck a little more. For the tech mogul, known for his thunderous statements, this vehicle is simply the future of the automotive industry, as he predicted in a second tweet sent at 5:22 a.m. Eastern time.
"Feels like the future,” Musk said.
Tesla has not yet revealed the version of the Cybertruck that will be mass produced, even as the automotive group is currently rolling a fleet of prototypes seen in the streets of California, for example. As a result, it makes perfect sense that Musk's latest prediction has Twitter users asking him to share photos of this car from the "future."
"Share some pics tho," one Twitter user commented.
"It is. Good Job,” another user agreed with the Techno King.
Tesla and Musk promised to change the way pickup trucks are perceived.
"We've pulled people away from their kind of normal comfort zone and brought them something that's just radically different and will be on the street radically different and, you know, if you're not used to attention might be a little tough in the beginning," Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla's Chief Vehicle Designer, said in January.
The vehicle has been described as something out of the films "Mad Max" and "Blade Runner." Musk himself said that the Cybertruck had been "influenced partly by 'The Spy Who Loved Me'," in a reference to the amphibious Lotus Esprit S1, featured in the 1977 James Bond film.
Clearly, the goal is to push the envelope, cementing the corporate image of being at the forefront of innovation. Tesla is not like the others: this is the message sent by Musk via the Cybertruck.
'Ultimate Avant-Garde Vehicle'
"The corporate and brand authenticity is enhanced by bringing ‘statement’ products like Cybertruck to market that capture the imagination of consumers. Playfulness and iconoclasm is part of the Tesla brand," Adam Jonas, Morgan Stanley's star auto analyst, said last month.
Calling the Cybertruck the "ultimate avant-garde vehicle," Jonas said it will more likely be an "enthusiast/cult car with far more limited volume (closer to 50k units/year) with some design and manufacturing learnings that could ultimately migrate to the rest of Tesla’s core lineup."
"We feel the Cybertruck carries more value in a cultural/zeitgeist sense than in a direct economic sense. At the same time, we encourage our readers to ask themselves: how many Cybertrucks can roll up to a parent-teacher conference or youth soccer match at the same time before losing some of that indescribable... something?"
The order book appears to be full since Tesla is not taking orders outside North America anymore. The commercial success of the vehicle seems to be guaranteed at least in the first months.
Pricing for the Cybertruck has yet to be announced by Musk and Tesla. But the base price could be $40,000.
Cybertruck is said to have a low center of gravity that provides good traction control and torque, enabling acceleration from 0-60 mph in just 2.9 seconds and up to 500 miles of range.
In addition, Tesla said that the pickup truck has up to 3,500 pounds (1,587 kg) of payload capacity and 100 cubic feet of exterior, lockable storage.
The Cybertruck also has a towing capability of over 14,000 pounds (6,350 kg), the carmaker has said.
