Starting from 435,000 yuan, Tesla Cybertruck was delivered, has what Musk said at the beginning come true?
4 years ago, Musk shocked the world with a hammer, a steel ball, and a strangely shaped pickup.
At that time, he turned his back to the shattered window and smiled that the car could be seen "later in 2021".
▲ Picture from: Reuters
As a result, that wait is 4 years.
People say it's impossible to finish, that it will never be made, and yet it comes.
So said Musk, who was standing on the cargo box of the Cybertruck. In his opinion, the Cybertruck is Tesla's best product to date, "it's a better pickup than a pickup, and a better sports car than a sports car".
Four years, should...?
The Cybertruck, which is now in production, is not exactly the same as the one it was released four years ago, and its price has changed:
The entry-level rear-drive single-motor model has risen from $39,900 to $49,890 (about 356,000 yuan), the price of the dual-motor four-wheel drive model has risen from $49,900 to $68,890 (about 491,600 yuan), and the most powerful three-motor model has risen from $69,900 to $96,390 (about 687,800 yuan).
Although the price is much higher than before, it is still reasonable compared to the starting price of $49,995 (about 356,200 yuan) of the Ford F-150 Lightning.
Let's look at the specific parameters.
Due to its weight, the Cybertruck has a much shorter range than other Tesla models, with an estimated range of only 402 km, but it can still accelerate from zero to 100 in 6.7 seconds, with a top speed of 180 km/h and a maximum towing capacity of 3.4 tons.
In addition, Tesla did not disclose other specifications for the rear-wheel drive model, which will not be officially launched until 2025.
The range of the dual-motor model has increased instead of decreasing, with an estimated range of 547 kilometers, and Tesla has also prepared a "range expansion package" (which is actually a battery in the cargo box) that can increase the range to 755 kilometers. Power-wise, it accelerates to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds, but still has a top speed of 180 km/h and a towing capacity of nearly 5 tonnes (the average weight of an African elephant).
Next up was the Cyberbeast Edition, which was powered by three electric motors, and Tesla also brought the powertrain to the venue. According to the site, the two electric motors on the rear axle can put out a total of 845 horsepower, similar in structure to the Model S Plaid, and the front motor can provide an additional 300 horsepower, for a total of 1,145 horsepower in the front and rear.
Thanks to its powerful powertrain, the Cyberbeast accelerates to 100 km/h in just 2.7 seconds and has a top speed of 209 km/h. On the other hand, the range is 515 km lower than the dual-motor version, and 705 km with the Range Expansion Pack.
Musk also showed a video at the press conference - a beast version model outperformed a 911 in a straight line acceleration while towing a Porsche 911.
In the round of "towing ability competition", the Cybertruck not only beat the Rivian R1T and Ford F-150 Lightning, which are also electric pickup trucks, but even beat the diesel-burning Ford F-350.
Not only that, but Tesla also said that the Cybertruck can travel "on the surface of any planet."
Tesla has brought the Cybertruck an electronic adaptive air suspension with a range of 305 mm and a ground clearance of up to 432 mm, paired with a cargo box of about 1.8 meters by 1.2 meters.
The Cybertruck has a fairly neat storage space at the bottom of the cargo compartment, and it's the only Tesla model to have an electric trunk, with 1,897 litres of cargo space and a maximum load of 1,134 kilograms.
In addition, the cockpit and cargo box are equipped with 120V and 240V sockets to charge power tools or other electric vehicles, and can also provide up to 11.5 kilowatts of power directly to the home during a grid outage, enough to maintain the lighting system.
Tesla even has rooftop searchlights and a tent at the rear of the car, which of course need to be purchased extra.
The interior will not be introduced, and the layout is similar to other Tesla models, see the picture.
In order to show the sturdiness of the Cybertruck's body, Musk also brought videos of the previous "gun test" and "bow and arrow test".
If Al Capone (one of the most notorious American mob bosses of the 20th century) showed up with a submachine gun and dumped the entire magazine on the car door, you would still be alive.
Tesla says the Cybertruck has a stiff 30X cold-rolled stainless steel exoskeleton, and its armor glass is also capable of withstanding the impact of a baseball or a level 4 hail at 112km/h. Musk also brought in Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla's chief designer who threw a steel ball at the Cybertruck four years ago, to demonstrate, with the glass intact.
Only this time, he replaced the steel ball with a baseball.
In addition, because the Cybertruck is too large, with a total length of 5682.9 mm, Tesla has prepared rear-wheel steering for it, giving it a smaller turning radius than the Model S. At the same time, the Cybertruck is also equipped with steer-by-wire for the first time, making the Yoke steering wheel really useful.
It's hard to make, and it's hard to sell
Obviously, the Cybertruck delivered by Tesla today is no longer the Cybertruck of 4 years ago, and in order to reduce costs and successfully mass production, Musk has made a lot of compromises, such as huge wipers on the front gear, and exterior mirrors on both sides.
The question is, how many people will pay for the Cybertruck that he worked so hard to build?
First of all, Americans love pickups, but they prefer gasoline pickups.
In 2022, a total of 2.73 million pickup trucks were sold in the U.S. market, accounting for 55% of global pickup truck sales. The three best-selling cars were the Ford F-Series, the Chevrolet Silverado, and GM's RAM P/U, with a combined sales of more than 1.6 million units.
The pickup truck is a model with strong tool attributes, although the fuel pickup truck does not have strong acceleration performance, but its convenience of suburban energy replenishment, far ahead of the pure electric pickup. The reason is that the charging network in the United States is not yet perfect.
Recently, more than 3,000 auto dealers across the United States sent a letter to the U.S. government asking to slow down the pace of electric vehicle adoption.
The joint letter mentions that electric vehicles will be an ideal choice for many people, and their appeal will continue to grow. But the reality is that "the regulations have prompted a massive influx of electric vehicles into stores, but the market demand has not kept up, and EV dealerships in North America have piled up."
Dealers said that most consumers are not optimistic about electric vehicles on the market, believing that they are not only expensive, but also have problems with range and ease of refueling.
▲Rivian R1T
Even if you put aside the gasoline vehicles and only look at the pure electric field, the Cybertruck has two rivals to be reckoned with - the Rivian R1T and the Ford F150-Lightning.
▲福特 F150-Lightning
Unlike Musk's futurism, Rivian, the California-based newcomer, believes that pickup truck users will not pay for the appearance alone, but because the practical attributes of the pickup truck are difficult to change.
Sandy Munro, founder and CEO of Munro & Associates, a U.S.-based engineering consulting firm, was also present at today's press conference. Earlier, he expressed his opinion on the three models. He said there are enough differences between the Cybertruck, the F-150 Lightning and the Rivian R1T.
The Lightning is more like a work truck, the Rivian is good for serious off-roading, and the Cybertruck is best for camping and light outdoor activities.
Ford CEO Jim Farley has also said, "The Cybertruck is designed for 'Silicon Valley people,' while Ford's pickup trucks are for 'real work.'" 」
While the outside world is singing about the decline in Cybertruck sales, Musk himself is also worried about production capacity.
At this year's shareholder meeting, Musk gave his own delivery expectations for the Cybertruck - the annual sales target for the model is set at 250,000 units on top of the existing orders of more than 2 million.
Compared with the Model Y, which may exceed one million annual sales this year, and Tesla's second-generation platform models, which are expected to reach 5 million annual sales, the Cybertruck's 250,000 units can be said to be quite convergent.
But Musk still believes that the Cybertruck will completely change the category of pure electric pickup trucks, and this pure electric pickup truck that has dragged on for 4 years will become the Hummer of today's era.
It's not as sensationalist as I am, and in fact, it's very useful.