The American pickup truck market is something that is a hard nut to crack. It’s a lucrative market that relies solely on the strength, sturdiness, toughness and dependability of the pickup truck, capable of surviving al weather conditions imaginable. In short, Americans prefer them to be like the good old pickup trucks.

Entering this tough segment through all electric pickup trucks was impossible some time ago. This time however, Tesla may have made the difference.

Throughout these years, we have all seen what Tesla has been doing; it makes a repetitious update on an existing design and makes it look exciting through a flashy press event. But this time, Tesla did it differently than others.

It was just 2 days ago that Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed a pickup truck which is futuristic in design. But that very design is absurd and brutalist in sense. This is one of the best electric pickup trucks that have ever been released.

Presenting to the world, the new Tesla Cybertruck!

Tesla revealed the new Cybertruck at a press event, hosted at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. The truck’s price starts from $40,000 and is poised to make it big in the already existing, tough and robust pickup truck market in the United States.

Having a look at Tesla Cybertruck’s design evokes some serious thoughts about funkiness, outer space and the future. Yet, the pickup’s design is also polarizing. If customers accept the fact that there is more than what meets the eye, they should know that it will go into production late in the year 2021.

This is one of the first all-electric pickup trucks ever launched in the United States. It also comes in with some remarkable features.

• It can seat six people with relative ease.
• The company claims it is bulletproof (both the body and the glass).
• It has an adjustable ride height.
• The loading bed is known as the vault (due to its retractable cover). It is 6.5 feet long.
• An on-board air compressor is present.
• An outlet allowing users in running power tools & charging their gadgets. It draws power from an in-built battery pack.

Measurements and Performance of the Tesla Cybertruck

The Tesla Cybertruck promises to bring a new class of speed, adaptability, versatility and of course, strength. This is the only truck of its kind making all of these possible on an all-electric design and specifications.

The powerful drivetrain and low center of gravity gives exceptional traction control & torque, which helps the truck obtain acceleration from 0-60 miles per hour (mph) in just 2.9 seconds and up to 500 miles of range.

The Tesla Cybertruck is 231.7 inches (19.31 feet) long, 79.8 inches (6.65 feet) wide and 75 inches (6.25 feet) tall. It has a seating for a total of six individuals. That’s right, six individuals so talk about the truck being roomy.

Comparing these measurements to that of the Ford F-150, it measures between 209 and 250 inches (17.43 and 20.83 feet) long, 80 and 86 inches (6.67 and 7.16 feet) wide, and between 75 & 78.5 inches (6.25 and 6.54 feet) tall. This does make them both pretty much the same in size.

When it comes to performance, they sound too good to be true because Elon Musk claims that the Tesla Cybertruck will be able to reach 60 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds. That will be before it continues through the quarter-mile marker in just under 11 seconds.

Its off-road statistics are praiseworthy. It offers an approach angle of 35 degrees, a departure angle of 28 degrees and a ground clearance of up to 16 inches (1.3 feet). At the moment, three ranges (models) will be offered, with 250 plus miles at the low end and the top end having an amazing 500 plus miles.

When it came to the towing aspect, the Tesla Cybertruck will be capable of towing around 14,000 pounds (6,350 Kilograms). On the launch event, a video was played and according to it; the Cybertruck beat the Ford F-150 in a tug of war.

It should be noted that all of the tech industry’s big names and minds have tried pulling off a ‘Steve Jobs’ thing by means of so-called innovations which have often flopped badly.

But here, Elon Musk has pretty much delivered what he said. At the launch event, Elon Musk revealed that an ATV can fit in the truck and even charge in its loading bed. It may sit in awkwardly, but it is also worth noting that it charges there too.

The Tesla Cybertruck’s body and Looks – Where did it come from?

When General Motors launched Saturn in 1985, it had faced a lot of laughter because innovative designs back then were fantasy.

The design of the Tesla Cybertruck brings to mind something from the funky universe of cyberpunks. Instead of fitting aluminum panels over an existing skeletal frame, Tesla used an exoskeleton made of cold rolled stainless steel. That is a pretty strong material and a pretty strong body frame.

At the launch event, the body was tested with blows from a sledgehammer. All it did was just slightly dent the Cybertruck’s finish. Musk claims the stainless-steel alloy used on the Tesla Cybertruck is strong and this is the case.

Apart from the sledgehammer, he claims it can also withstand firing from certain types of small arms. It does prove that the stainless-steel exterior body of the truck is something huge when it comes to engineering pickup trucks.

If all of this is real without any doubt, then the Tesla Cybertruck is a vehicle no one would want to crash into.

The Cybertruck is quite big and roomy. The outside may look polarizing, but the inside is quite spacious. For such a design, it seemed impossible to have a spacious interior and it does look like Tesla pulled off a magic trick in this regard.

Somehow, the pickup’s look is quite hideous. The Blade Runner inspired design on the pickup is currently a prototype at the moment. Customers will now be hoping that when it is formally launched, it will look better than its architype version.

Bulletproof glass – Is it really bulletproof?

Tesla claims that the Cybertruck is fitted with Ultra-strong glass and polymer-layered composite. It can absorb and redirect impactful force which not only tolerates damage but also helps deliver improved performance as well.

On the launch event, Tesla’s employees tested Tesla’s armored glass by having a giant steel ball thrown at it from various heights. It was done separately which wooed the audience. It did seem to be bulletproof at first when the special demonstration was carried out.

Instead of Tesla moving on to another demonstration, Elon Musk urged Tesla’s design head Franz von Holzhausen to throw a heavy steel ball at the driver’s window of the truck. Surprisingly, the so-called bulletproof armored glass shattered.

Elon Musk remarked: “Well, maybe that was a little too hard. It didn’t go through, that’s a plus sign.”

When Franz von Holzhausen threw the steel ball on the rear side window, it shattered too. Consequently, Musk Remarked: “Room for improvement.”

The audience did have chuckles and laughs at this one. This made the Tesla Cybertruck look like an old prop from the movie Blade Runner that spent a night parked on a street in San Francisco.

This certainly raises eyebrows because having Tesla’s CEO and design head appear at ease after defacing their new vehicle at a launch even makes it look like something that has seriously gone off the hook and off the track too.

Tesla Cybertruck’s specifications

Now let’s get down to its specifications.

Single motor real wheel drive (RWD)	Dual motor all-wheel drive (AWD)	Tri-motor all-wheel drive (AWD)
0-60 Mph in less than 6.5 seconds.	0-60 Mph in less than 4.5 seconds.	0-60 Mph in less than 2.9 seconds.
Range of 250+ miles.	Range of 300+ miles.	Range of 500+ miles.
Drivetrain is rear-wheel drive.	Drivetrain is Dual motor all-wheel drive	Drivetrain is Tri-motor all-wheel drive.
Storage is of 100 cubic feet.	Storage is of 100 cubic feet	Storage is of 100 cubic feet.
Vault length is 6.5 feet.	Vault length is 6.5 feet.	Vault length is 6.5 feet.
Towing capacity is 7500 pounds and more.	Towing capacity is 10,000 pounds and more.	Towing capacity is 14,000 pounds and more.
Standard autopilot feature.	Standard autopilot feature.	Standard autopilot feature.
Standard Adaptive Air Suspension.	Standard Adaptive Air Suspension.	Standard Adaptive Air Suspension.
Up to 16 inches of Ground clearance.	Up to 16 inches of Ground clearance.	Up to 16 inches of Ground clearance.
35-degree approach angle.	35-degree approach angle.	35-degree approach angle.
28-degree departure angle.	28-degree departure angle.	28-degree departure angle.

How many orders of the Tesla Cybertruck have been booked so far? and what are the prices for its 3 models?

Regardless of its different looks, the potential Tesla Cybertruck has is something which is phenomenal. Tesla revealed that it has around 200,000 orders for it already, with 17% of customers paying for the entry model, 42% paying for dual motor one and 41% want the speedy tri-motor model.

Also, the prices for each version are as under:

• Single motor rear wheel drive costs $39,900.
• Dual motor all-wheel drive costs $49,900.
• Tri motor all-wheel drives costs $69,900.

It should be kept in mind that these are just reservations and not absolute commitments in the purchase of the Cybertruck.

Conclusion

The American pickup truck market is a $100 billion market comprising of 89% male owners, a robust brand loyalty in comparison to other segments and does not care about sales pitches of environment friendly engines.

In short, they prefer a metal beast that runs on fossil fuels and capable of lasting longer than others.

Tesla is already reeling from the nightmare of its solar panels catching fire and the consequent lawsuits. This matter is further compounded by another lawsuit related to a fatal autopilot crash.

The Cybertruck does have innovative features. It does look powerful and futuristic but in the end, it is a prototype.

So, the question remains; Could this be the golden feather in Tesla’s cap? Or will it flop like another tech product? Dearest readers, Stay tuned to find out.