Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the company’s first electric pickup truck of Tesla called Cybertruck on Thursday night but the bigger twist was Musk envisioning the truck as an “official truck of Mars.”
In a tweet, Musk reinforced the idea further. Musk who is also the chief of SpaceX, engrossed in building interplanetary spaceships and rockets for missions to Mars, Moon and Orbits could be planning the dual use of Tesla vehicles.
The design aims multi-planetary use
Elon Musk has been successful in building up the buzz ahead of the “Blade Runner” Cybertruck’s unveiling. The mystery had peaked over the Cybertruck’s final specs and design as Tesla CEO periodically asserted that the vehicle will not resemble a traditional pickup truck.
Some teasers by Tesla and Easter eggs in the CYBRTRK event-invitation could relay clues on the multi-world design of the new truck vehicle.
Musk has been saying the Tesla Cybertruck will look like an armored personnel carrier (APC) from the future. Apparent similarities between the vehicle’s design and the influence of NASA’s Mars Concept Rover unveiled in 2017 were hard to ignore.
Mars Rover of NASA was 28 feet long. The modular structure made it strong in combing skills in a harsh environment like the Red Planet.
Tesla’s Easter Eggs showed the Cybertruck’s smooth sloping hood and silhouette may resemble an APV. The similarities are prominent and the intent turns obvious that the Cybertruck wanted to work as a disruptive pickup on Earth and a base for a SpaceX Mars Rover as well.
Musk’s penchant for converging Tesla and SpaceX’s technologies is well known.
“Well, actually, Teslas will work on Mars. You can just drive them, pretty much, because electric cars don’t need oxygen, they don’t need air. So you can just drive them around, no problem,” Musk answered in the Q&A session during the SpaceX’s Starship unveiling.
Market opportunity
Far from the Mars ambition for the vehicle, the event at Los Angeles, California showcased the truck model that will go on sale in 2021 with a serious market appeal. The Tesla Cybertruck will have three versions –250 miles, 300 miles, and 500 miles of range.
The vehicle’s shape represents a metallic trapezoid, according to the CNBC report that said the vehicle would start selling at $39,900.
Although delivery is slated for late 2021, preorders can be made at tesla.com/cybertruck.
Businesswise also the electric car maker sees great opportunity in the Cybertruck. This is because pickup sales are surging and trucks bring good profit margins.
Tyson Jominy, vice president of data at JD Power noted: “A $50,000 pickup truck is a very common occurrence now. People are willing to spend on this segment to haul their toys, to support a lifestyle.”
However, many entrenched players including Ford with its F-150 and General Motors’ hyped electric pickup along with EV startup Rivian backed by Amazon will form a big crowd of electric pickup trucks by the time Tesla starts selling the new Cybertruck.
