Musk finally gets his sci-fi Tesla pickup but at a cost

Tesla CEO Elon Musk delivered on his promise to bring the wildly styled, science fiction-inspired Cybertruck to life despite industry doubts that the pickup would see the light of day. But the achievement comes at a high cost.

Covered in stainless steel, the angular truck is sure to be a people magnet and a cultural icon of the EV era, analysts say. But its elevated starting price and slow production rollout mean it won't be replacing gasoline-powered pickups anytime soon.

"We have a car here that experts said was impossible, that experts said would never be made," Musk told a crowd at last week's delivery event at Tesla's Austin, Texas, factory. "I think it's our best product. I think it's the most unique thing on the road and finally, the future is going to look like the future."

What turned out to be impossible, analysts said, was Musk's promise of a starting price below $40,000. Instead, the Cybertruck will start at $60,990, excluding shipping, Tesla said last week. That's about a 50 percent increase over the $39,900 that Musk announced when the truck was first shown four years ago.

Adding Tesla's normal shipping charge of $1,390 for its other vehicles, plus a $250 order fee, the base rear-drive Cybertruck would start at $62,630 for 250 miles of estimated range. And that model doesn't go on sale until 2025. Higher trims go on sale next year, starting at $79,990 and $99,990, excluding shipping.

Fans of the EV brand, including Cybertruck reservation holders, were disappointed.

"I've been waiting for this for four years," said Gene Munster, a managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management and a Tesla bull. "I was disappointed in the price. I have a reservation, but I don't know if I'm going to get it. I think I'm going to wait a couple years for the price to come down," he said on CNBC.

Tesla will likely lower the price when Cybertruck production ramps up to better meet demand, perhaps by 2026, Munster predicted. "If they want to gain market share, if they want this to be a real vehicle, they have to bring pricing down." Otherwise it will be more of a niche product, he said.

The best-selling EV pickups on the market are the Ford F-150 Lightning, which starts at $53,135 with shipping for standard all-wheel drive and an estimated 230 miles of range, and the Rivian R1T, which starts at $74,800 with shipping for awd and 270 miles of range, according to the brands' websites.

To be sure, the Cybertruck has a unique look and an imposing presence from its angular, chunky styling and unpainted metal exterior. Some people love it, some hate it, but it won't be mistaken for an F-150.

The pickup also has impressive features on the higher trims.

The top Cyberbeast version has 845 hp, an estimated 320 miles of range, acceleration to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds and an 11,000-pound tow rating, Tesla said.

But with shipping, the top trim will break $100,000 before options, such as a range-extending battery pack that fits in the pickup's 6-by-4-foot bed.

"It's meant for very long trips or towing heavy things up mountains," Musk said on X, formerly Twitter, which he owns. Pricing wasn't given for the extra pack.

At the original 2019 unveiling of the Cybertruck concept, Musk expressed hope the pickup would replace gasoline and diesel trucks such as the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado and Ram 1500 on U.S. roads and construction sites.

That's less likely now given the revised pricing and an expected 18-month production ramp to reach about 250,000 Cybertrucks annually, according to Tesla's estimates.

"It definitely is more niche than the Big 3 trucks," said Brian Moody, executive editor at Cox Automotive. "The specs are decent, quick and capable in terms of towing and payload. But there's no heavy-duty option.

"It will be interesting to see if Tesla can fulfill orders rapidly or there will be more delays."

Still, Moody added, "there will be many initial buyers just based on the uniqueness alone."

Musk has said Tesla had more than a million reservations for the Cybertruck, which requires only a $100 refundable deposit. Munster said those will probably be cut in half because of the higher pricing.

At the launch and delivery event in Texas, Musk personally handed over the first dozen or so Cybertrucks to reservation holders before a crowd of Tesla fans who participated in a lottery for tickets to the event.

"It's going to be amazing to see all these cars driving around," Musk told visitors, who were later given tours of the Cybertruck assembly line. "This is really going to change the look of the road."

In a presentation during the event, Musk highlighted some of the pickup's features, including 2,500 pounds of payload capability and an adaptive air suspension that allows up to 17 inches of ground clearance.

Musk also played a video of the Cybertruck's doors being shot full of bullets.

"The apocalypse could come along at any moment, and here at Tesla we have the finest in apocalypse technology," Musk joked. But he was serious about the Cybertruck's capabilities, comparing it favorably with the competition.

"You have here a car that is bullet tough," Musk said, "can out-pull an F-350 diesel, has a massive towing capacity, massive bed. It's basically an incredible useful truck, not some grandstanding showpiece."

Musk didn't announce the revised pricing at the event. Rather, Tesla posted the numbers on its website afterward.

At the reveal four years ago, Tesla's original pricing drew cheers from the crowd. In addition to the sub-$40,000 base price, Musk said a midlevel, dual-motor version would start at $49,900 with 300 miles of range, and a three-motor version with 500 miles of range was to start at around $70,000. Those prices are excluding shipping.

The new pricing announced last week included the midlevel, dual-motor Cybertruck starting at $79,990, excluding shipping, with an estimated range of 340 miles, 600 hp and 0-to-60 mph acceleration in 4.1 seconds, Tesla said. Deliveries of that version will start in 2024.

Industry analysts said the Cybertruck is likely to appeal to casual truck users and EV enthusiasts rather than traditional pickup owners in North America who are looking for maximum utility and mainstream looks.

"There will be a core group of Tesla fanboys who want one and are willing to spend big money to get one just for the visual statement it makes," said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars. "But the bulk of the traditional truck market, which is huge, will have no interest in the Cybertruck."