Customers are interested, despite the truck’s terrible debut.
Topline: Following a viral storm of jokes and memes over the Cybertruck’s embarrassing debut, Tesla CEO Elon Musk boasted over the weekend that the company had already received 200,000 orders for the electric pickup truck within its first three days of launch, suggesting that customers weren’t immediately put off by the bad PR.
- In the botched unveiling last week, where Musk touted the Cybertruck for being “really tough … a truck you can take a sledgehammer to,” the vehicle’s armored glass windows shattered during an onstage demonstration that did little to inspire confidence.
- The Tesla CEO has been regularly tweeting updates about the Cybertruck since the launch last week: On Saturday, he confirmed that orders had hit 146,000.
- Musk boasted about the vehicle again on Sunday, saying that Tesla had already received 200,000 orders for the Cybertruck, all without any advertising or paid endorsements.
- The Cybertruck, which looks to compete with and replace legacy pickup trucks, is Tesla’s sixth electric vehicle since the company was founded in 2003.
- Tesla’s website shows that customers must pay a $100 fee to pre-order the Cybertruck, which has a starting price of $39,900 and is set for manufacturing in late 2021.
- Musk also said in a separate tweet that Cybertruck would be Tesla’s last new product unveiling “for a while,” though there will be some “unexpected technology announcements” next year.
Key background: Musk showed off the futuristic Cybertruck, Tesla’s first electric pickup truck, in an unveiling last Thursday night. The launch went terribly, however, leaving the audience stunned for a moment after the truck’s armored windows embarrassingly shattered in an onstage demonstration. The failed launch quickly went viral with jokes and memes online, but the bad PR looks to have actually helped boost sales overall.
Big numbers: Tesla’s share price dropped 6% after the event, wiping out $768 million of Musk’s net worth in a single day.
Tangent: Blade Runner’s art director, Syd Mead, is reportedly a huge fan of the Cybertruck’s design, which Musk had previously confirmed was inspired by the movie.
Further reading: Elon Musk Debuts His Hard-Edged Tesla Cybertruck—And It’s Really Not For Everybody (Alan Ohnsman)
Elon Musk’s Net Worth Falls $770 Million After Tesla’s Botched Cybertruck Debut (Hayley Cuccinello)
Tesla Cybertruck Runs Into Media Buzzsaw, Preorders Hit 200,000 [Update] (Brooke Crothers)
