Despite having one of the most craziest and most controversial designs we’ve ever seen, Elon Musk has confirmed the Tesla Cybertruck has secured an impressive 146k orders in less than 48 hours.
It is important to remember that it now only takes US$100 and A$150 to place an order, so there’s not a lot of skin in the game, should people change their mind over the next 2 years.
With that disclaimer out of the way, I’m really surprised at just how many people have ordered, given how different the exterior of the vehicle is. From comments online, it seems there was an initial band of people who’ll buy anything Tesla, but then after a night to sleep on it, I started to see my timeline fill with people who’d become more comfortable with the look and then chose to order a Cybertruck.
Since the announcement Musk has confirmed there will be at least 2 colour choices, the steel version shown on stage, as well as a matte black option. One of the surprise hits is the Cyberquad and while we don’t know the price, it will be offered as an option with the Cybertruck.
Perhaps the most surprising part of the announcement (after the design) was the price. Starting at US$39,900, around US$10k cheaper than expectations, it provided a lot of headroom to those who were eyeing the dual or tri-motor options.
It turns out the Dual Motor and Tri-Motor variants are very close in terms of the makeup of orders. Musk revealed the following volumes for each of the Cybertruck configurations:
- Dual Motor – 42%
- Tri Motor – 41%
- Single Motor – 17%
We know the Tri Motor option won’t be in production until 2022, so those people are certainly in for a wait, but that’s not unfamiliar territory for a Tesla product launch.
So what do you think explains this volume of pre-orders? Is it that design isn’t as important as all think it is, or is it the fact the performance and towing capacity on offer are so outstanding people can look past a wacky design? Leave a comment below.
