Elon Musk
has revealed more details about the
Tesla
Cybertruck, including a “beast mode” version, and plans to make 200,000 of the electric pickup trucks a year.
Musk even mentioned when the handover event for initial deliveries was coming.
Tuesday, on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast with Joe Rogan, the
Tesla
(ticker: TSLA) CEO said the electric-vehicle maker will offer a “beast mode” version of the Cybertruck that can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under three seconds. There will also be an option for customers to buy bulletproof glass along with the standard bulletproof steel panels, he added.
There was also a lengthy discussion of whether or not an arrow could penetrate the vehicle that ended with Rogan firing an arrow from a compound bow. It didn’t penetrate the truck’s side.
Musk emphasized again that manufacturing the vehicle would be “much, much harder” than the initial design process. But he did say that the delivery event was planned for “next month,” meaning November, since the podcast happened on Halloween.
Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment about the Cybertruck’s projected delivery date.
That’s consistent with prior timing, though. The EV maker said last month that the first Cybertruck deliveries are set to begin on Nov. 30—four years after Musk unveiled the concept. The launch event was notable for the wrong reasons as the vehicle’s “armor glass” windows were smashed during a demonstration.
Tesla also said its Texas factory had the capacity to make 125,000 units a year, while Musk said the company hoped to reach 250,000 units annually by 2025.
Final specifications and details about final pricing, however, weren’t part of the discussion. Investors, and car buyers, would like to know how much each version of the truck will end up costing.
Still, the first Cybertruck delivery later this month will be a big moment for Tesla, but it’s hard for investors to get too excited about it just yet. Musk said it could take up to 18 months for the vehicle to be a “significant cash-flow contributor,” on the company’s third-quarter earnings call last month.
“We dug our own grave with Cybertruck,” Musk said on the call, adding that there will be “enormous challenges in reaching volume production.” Demand isn’t the problem, as Musk said more than 1 million people have already reserved the vehicle.
Tesla stock is 0.8% higher in premarket trading Wednesday, and is up 63% so far in 2023, as of Tuesday’s close.
S&P 500
and
Nasdaq Composite
futures were down 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.
Write to Callum Keown at [email protected] and Al Root at [email protected]
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