(New York) Elon Musk presented Thursday, with great fanfare, Tesla's new electric van, “the most exceptional object on the road”, according to the entrepreneur, which must position the manufacturer in a market already invested by its rival Ford.
Loud music, wild crowd, the billionaire arrived like a rock star, leather jacket on his shoulders, at the wheel of his Cybertruck, for this event organized at Tesla headquarters in Austin (Texas).
“I think it's our best product,” said Elon Musk, “the most exceptional thing on the road. The future will finally look like the future. »
This all-angled automobile is intended to be a cross between a model from the film Blade Runner (1982) and the “Wet Nellie”, an amphibious vehicle inspired by the Lotus Esprit, seen in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), according to Elon Musk.
“It's better than a van and better than a sports car, all rolled into one,” described the manufacturer's boss, who didn't hold back in praising the vehicle's performance.
Machine gun fire on doors without causing a hole, traction of a construction machine or a rocket reactor, racing with a Porsche 911 (won), Elon Musk put on a great show to promote his new creature.
Often considered a pioneer, the manufacturer is entering an electric van market already occupied, notably by its rival Rivian, but also General Motors and Ford.
The latter thus launched, more than 18 months ago, the F-150 Lightning, an electric version of its best-selling model in the United States.
Very popular with American customers, pickup trucks are cars on which manufacturers achieve some of the highest margins.
The base model of the Cybertruck retails for $60,990, significantly more than the F-150 Lightning, which retails for $50,000. This least expensive version will only be available in 2025, according to the manufacturer's website.
Tesla already offers two other versions, one at $79,990, the other at $99,990. The latter can reach 210 km/h, has a range of 515 km and has a towing capacity of 5 tonnes.
“Historic day”
During the presentation on Thursday, customers present on site took delivery of their Cybertruck to the ovation of the public present.
For Garrett Nelson of CFRA, this launch presents “a much higher risk” than for the Texan manufacturer's other cars, even if he recognizes that Elon Musk “managed to calm expectations” after announcing his newborn in fanfare.
The entrepreneur notably estimated that sales of the Cybertruck could be significantly lower than those of other models in the range, due to its atypical appearance, even if the order book has already exceeded one million.
Elon Musk plans to reach production of 250,000 copies in 2025.
“We dug our grave with the Cybertruck,” the billionaire joked last month.
“The Cybertruck is a special product, one of those that we rarely see and which are very difficult to launch on the market, to sell in quantity, to make prosper,” described the fifty-year-old.
The vehicle body is made of stainless steel plates, used to ensure its strength.
“It looks cool, but it's extremely difficult to build,” according to Art Wheaton, a transportation industry expert at Cornell University.
The academic doubts that this Cybertruck will ever generate considerable sales, because of its “divisive” design.
But he sees the promise of a niche product, sufficiently differentiated to enhance the image of the Tesla brand, citing, as an example, the Chevrolet Corvette.
“It’s a way to attract attention,” he says, for its owners, but also for the Texan manufacturer.
And to divert it, even temporarily, from the controversies associated with its X platform.
On Wednesday, Elon Musk apologized for a post relating an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. But he also made a lot of noise by advising advertisers who boycotted the social network to “go fuck themselves”.
“The (launch of) Cybertruck is a historic day and we do not see Musk's interview (Wednesday) having an impact on its success,” said Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush Securities.
