Cybertruck already makes tracks
Tesla claims 200,000 orders in three days.
Dalvin Brown
Just days after hosting a bumpy reveal event, Tesla secured 200,000 preorders of its new electric pickup truck, CEO Elon Musk tweeted Sunday. A day earlier, the Palo Alto-based automaker hit 146,000 preorders within the truck’s first 48 hours.
In order to preorder the muchbuzzed-about Cybertruck, customers had to drop a $100 refundable deposit, according to the company’s website. In the tweet, Musk seems to have conflated preorders with “orders.”
“146k Cybertruck orders so far, with 42% choosing dual, 41% tri & 17% single motor,” Musk tweeted Saturday.
He later tweeted updates saying “187k“and “200k.”
On Thursday, Musk took the stage at a showy event in Los Angeles to showcase the car’s so-called bulletproof windows. During a demonstration, the company’s design head hurled a metal ball at the armored windows.
The windows cracked – twice. The polarizing, angular truck will come in three configurations with range estimates between 250 and 500 miles, depending on the model.
The most affordable truck is priced at $39,900. The all-wheel-drive version costs $49,900 while the highest tier rings in at $69,900.
Musk tweeted that the dual-motor mid-tier version with all-wheel drive is the most popular choice, so far. The demand comes despite the futuristic truck receiving “no advertising & no paid endorsement,” Musk tweeted.
The Cybertruck appears to be less popular than some of Tesla’s other models. The automaker hasn’t revealed how many people put down money for the Model Y crossover announced this year. The Model 3 sedan secured 276,000 preorders within days after it was announced in 2016.
Tesla’s stock plunged 6.1% following the truck’s rocky unveiling.
Motorists wishing to drive the Cybertruck will have to wait longer than a year before it arrives. Production starts on the cheaper versions in late 2021. Production is expected to begin on the $69,900 tri-motor option in late 2022.
The demand comes despite the futuristic truck receiving “no advertising & no paid endorsement,” CEO Elon Musk tweeted.