Chief Executive Elon Musk opened the Cybertruck event in Los Angeles by showing a video comparing pickups through the years, finally ending on an image of the three best-selling trucks with nearly identical design.
“Trucks have been the same for a very long time,” Musk said. “We want to try something different.”
Tesla unveiled a pickup truck design Thursday unlike anything else on the road.
The truck is angular, peaking in the middle of the roof and slanting down toward the hood and bed. Musk said it’s roughly the same dimensions and weight as the best-selling Ford F-150.
Tesla built the truck using an exoskeleton it says will aid with durability and passenger protection. “Starting with a nearly impenetrable exoskeleton, every component is designed for superior strength and endurance, from Ultra-Hard 30X Cold-Rolled stainless-steel structural skin to Tesla armor glass,” the Tesla website says.
Tesla says the truck is bulletproof to a 9 millimeter bullet.
During the presentation, Tesla’s lead designer Franz von Holzhausen was asked to swing a sledgehammer at the door. The door proved durable. Later he was asked to throw a metal ball at the windows to test the strength. Both windows shattered.
“You want a truck that’s really tough, not fake tough,” Musk said shortly before the stunt.
The truck has many of the things teased during development – self-adjusting air suspension, up to 16 inches of ground clearance, a 0-60 as fast as 2.9 seconds, a tow rating of 14,000 pounds, and range up to 500 miles. Among the unique features is a loading ramp built into the rear of the truck.
Cybertruck comes in three versions: Single Motor AWD, Dual Motor AWD, and Tri-Motor AWD.
The base model will cost $39,900 with 250 miles of range, while the top-end version will cost $69,900 with 500 miles of range.
The Cybertruck is now available to reserve on the Tesla site.