The Cybertruck, Tesla’s most revolutionary model, continues to give Elon Musk headaches. Since the owner of the American brand presented this electric pickup truck with a futuristic design in November 2019, four years have passed until the first ones finally circulate on the streets. Although, yes, they do it in dribs and drabs.
Throughout this period, Musk has faced all kinds of technical challenges related to the manufacturing and design of the pickup, especially regarding the large-sized crystals. In addition, during the manufacturing process, problems arising from the bullet-proof stainless steel body panels and the limited production of batteries to supply the entire production have emerged.
Despite all these setbacks, the commercial success of the Cybertruck is beyond doubt, at least in the United States. During the delivery of the first units of the pickup, held at the end of last November at Tesla’s factory in Texas, Musk assured that the firm has more than one million reservations – after paying a $100 deposit. – from his electric truck.
Simultaneously, the North American company announced the new prices of the Cybertruck. The entry variant starts at $39,900 and reaches a maximum of $69,900, depending on the model selected. These figures represent almost a 50% increase compared to the amounts initially announced.
Now, the landing of the Cybertruck in other markets seems more complicated. A few weeks ago, the European Transport Safety Council expressed its reluctance about the introduction of the pickup in Europe, alluding to the angular shapes and rigidity of the truck’s body, incompatible with Community regulations on road safety.
“We hope Tesla does not bring this vehicle to Europe. A model of this size, power and weight will be lethal for pedestrians and cyclists in a collision,” expressed this non-profit organization based in Brussels, referring to both the robustness of the body and the weight and size. The Cybertruck measures 5.68 meters long and has a weight ranging from 2,995 kg for the all-wheel drive variant to 3,104 kg for the Cyberbeast version.
Although there are still doubts about the introduction of the Cybertruck in the European market, what seems more certain is that the electric truck will not reach China, the country that sells the most electric vehicles in the world. Elon Musk himself has admitted that it is “very difficult” for the pickup to be marketed in the Chinese market due to the difficulties in homologating the vehicle in that country.
Musk expressed his opinion on X (formerly Twitter) to respond to user @ray4tesla, who had previously posted a message echoing a rumor about Tesla’s plans in China. “It is rumored that the Cybertruck will arrive in China to be displayed in dealerships. If so, it would attract many people to see it in person. I’m in a Chinese Cybertruck chat group with almost 500 members, and everyone has pre-ordered the Cybertruck. “I’m sure many would love to see the real model,” the tweet said.
However, Elon Musk quickly took charge of extinguishing rumors about the possible commercialization of the Cybertruck in China. “Making Cybetruck legal on the roads in China would be very difficult, but we could send some prototypes for exhibition,” said the Tesla CEO, hinting that it will be very difficult to homologate the controversial pickup in the Asian giant.
