(dramatic music) - [Narrator] Cybertruck,
arguably the most anticipated, and controversial pickup truck today. Despite having yet to be released, Tesla's long awaited pickup EV, has already divided public opinion. - If you're a farmer, where the heck you go charge this thing? - This Cybertruck, to me
seems like a stillborn. I just think it's gonna
be a bit of a bust. - That is the coolest
vehicle I've ever seen, in person in my life. - I want one, I think they're nuts, and I think it would be a
lot of fun to drive a tank. - The Cybertruck is polarizing. I haven't found many
people who feel so so, about the Cybertruck. - The Cybertruck looks
like it was intentionally designed to look like
nothing else on the market. - It's a provocative vehicle. It's radical, unprecedented. - [Narrator] With the
vehicle's first deliveries, now expected by the end of the year, it remains unclear just
who the Cybertruck is for. Will it compete with
established heavyweights, like Ford, GM and Stellantis,
the maker of Ram trucks? Or does Tesla hope to
carve out a new niche, within the nascent pickup EV sector? The Cybertruck was first
unveiled to the world in 2019. - It was one of these classic
Tesla product reveals. - Like a hundred years, trucks have been basically the same. We want to try something different. - [Rebecca] Where Elon Musk
debuted what the company expected the Cybertruck to look like. - [Narrator] Famously, a
demonstration of the truck's bulletproof windows failed. (rock smashes) - Oh, my (bleeps) God. Well, maybe that was a little too hard. - Tesla's Cybertruck unveiling
became somewhat legendary. - Try that one, really? Okay.
- [Elon] Sure. (rock smashes) Oh, man, it didn't go through. Little room for improvement. (laughs) You know, just fix it in post. - [Narrator] From that calamitous launch, years of delays followed. - Nobody had brought
an all electric pickup, to the market at that point. Elon Musk later talked about targeting, first deliveries to customers in 2021. That, of course, didn't happen. - [Narrator] The Cybertruck's release, was pushed back to late
2022 then to late 2023. - Tesla has a track record, of promising something
and not getting up to it, but then delivering enough surprise, and delight and enough features, and enough innovation that
people want to experience that. - [Narrator] In recent months, pre-production vehicles
have been spotted in public, and in July, Tesla said it had begun making pre-production
versions of the truck. Tesla now expects to deliver
its first Cybertrucks, to customers later this year
and ramp up production in 2024. Tesla hasn't shared the
number of pre-orders, for the Cybertruck, but
in a recent earnings call, Musk was bullish on consumer interest. - [Elon] The demand is
so far off the the hook, you can't even see the hook,
so that's really not an issue. - Tesla's very confident in the volumes, for the next few years to
hit their initial ramps and so I think people
are betting that yes, the first few years looks
like it'll be strong, and looks like it'll be
the demand will be there, if they can build them. - [Narrator] But the Cybertruck success, is far from assured. Despite being the world's EV
leader, it remains unclear, if Tesla can compete in
the most lucrative sector, of America's automotive industry. For decades, Ford, GM and Stellantis, which makes RAM trucks,
have dominated the highly competitive market for non EV pickups. - How important is the pickup sector, for the Detroit three? Critical. This accounts for almost
all of their profitability. You have three players, in Ford, GM and Stellantis that account
for over 90% of the market. - [Narrator] Another challenge for Tesla, is the enduring brand loyalty
of many pickup owners. - So you've seen people stay very, very loyal though because
those trucks are great, and the teams inside those
companies are really impressive. They are laser focused, on their truck customers
and they know them deeply. - [Announcer] The people
who build this country... (engine revs) - [Mark] They give them a
ton of different options, and ability to have the truck
exactly fit their lifestyle. - [Narrator] When Ford and GM unveiled their electric pickups, they
stuck relatively closely, to their classic pickup designs. Recently, Ford's, CEO Jim
Farley took aim at Musk, and the Cybertruck
arguing that the vehicle wasn't targeted at
traditional pickup owners. - And, we know those
customers better than anyone. And if he wants to design a Cybertruck, for Silicon Valley people, fine. - [Narrator] Since the Cybertruck is such a radical departure, from the conservative world of US pickups, could it prove too dramatic a design, to tap into such a traditional market? - We think 60% of large pickup usage, is for commercial purposes. So Tesla might try to appeal there, but we think actually
where it will benchmark, or compete most is as a
lifestyle leisure type vehicle. Think an F150 Raptor. - The target market for the
Cybertruck looks much more retail oriented than a all things, to all people of the traditional markets. The type of a truck buyer
that would use their vehicle, for work a lot also looks more oriented, to the usability of the bed
and the usability of the bed, with the high buttresses
and the arches on the side, looks like that might impede
on some of the usefulness. - [Narrator] With its
cyberpunk like design, the Cybertruck clearly breaks the mold, of a traditional pickup. The vehicle has drawn comparisons, to the DeLorean in the
movie, "Back to the Future," the submarine from the film,
"The Spy Who Loved Me," and even Apple's 1980s desktop bus mouse. - [Dan] You look at this vehicle, this is something that you,
you haven't seen before. It catches your attention, whether good or bad, it
catches your attention. - [Mark] But it was surprised
by how different it was from the prior Teslas that
were very sleek and swoopy. And it's interesting because, the Model S looked intentionally designed, to be a beautiful vehicle
that you wouldn't necessarily know was an ev. And the Cybertruck looks like
it was intentionally designed to look like nothing else on the market. - [Narrator] Tesla claims on its website, that the Cybertruck will
have seating for six, unpainted stainless steel body panels, and supposedly, armored glass windows. Tesla also says the Cybertruck
will have a payload capacity, of up to 3,500 pounds. That's more payload capacity
than Ford's F150 Lightning, Rivian's R1T and GM's Silverado EV. When it was unveiled in 2019, Tesla said three versions
would be available, a rear drive, single motor, dual motor, and a new tri motor with
two motors on the rear axle. But many basic questions
remain like the price. In 2019, the single dual
and trim motor vehicles, were listed at $39,900, $49,900, and $69,900 respectively. - At the time, pickup
trucks in the US averaged about 50,000, but it's widely expected, that the Cybertruck will end
up costing more than that. - [Narrator] Today, the average price, for a full-size pickup
is more than $59,000. - Among the biggest unknowns
about the Cybertruck, are when customers will be
able to get their hands on one. That timeline has been pushed
back a number of times, so we'll see whether Tesla sticks to it. - [Narrator] Tesla along
with other automakers, has tried to spur demand
for its electric models, by slashing prices across its lineup. In response, Ford cut
prices of the base model, of its EV pickup by almost $10,000. - I think it's more important about just a continuation of hits. Is it going to be a hit and
less on the cashflow element, and more on the, do they still have it? Type of a question that
investors may have. - What it's doing for
Tesla, regardless of whether it's going to be well
received or not well received, is it draws awareness. This is a company that has done very well, at drawing awareness,
creating brand value, without spending advertising dollars. Yes, it's very possible that
the will not be well received, but it's also possible, that
people may see the Cybertruck and say, that's not a vehicle
for me, but this Tesla, they're doing interesting things. I wanna explore the possibility, of buying a Model 3, Model
Y or the next gen vehicle, the Model 2, which we refer
to when that comes out. (gentle music)
