Tesla Cybertruck: Useless, or Essential?

The marketing of Tesla’s totally crazy pick-up is getting closer each day. But what explains this frenzy?

From our perspective as Europeans, the American love for pickups, even among city dwellers, remains an enigma. A virility complex, rough roads, a search for robustness—there are many arguments.

Nevertheless, Elon Musk and Tesla are giving a masterclass in marketing to the automotive world. With two million pre-orders recorded (against a refundable deposit of $200…), the Cybertruck has made the planet go crazy, not just the United States or Canada. Everyone wants to show off with this shoebox designed by a 3-year-old. Regardless of the design (subjective), practicality, or the ecological incoherence Tesla promotes all day long: people want a huge 4×4 raised a meter off the ground, weighing 3 tons, with a tailgate that will require a step stool.

And then there was a promise that many believed in: a huge vehicle for less than $40,000 excluding VAT (at the time of the announcement in 2019), or about 36,000 euros. Since then, the Cybertruck has been delayed by more than two years, the delays and list of complications have grown, and the cost has exploded. Financial observers fear a revised entry price of $60,000 and a loss of customers. Because a certain boredom is emerging, even among hardcore fans of the brand. Crash tests are underway in the United States, so the first deliveries could reasonably start at the end of the year or early 2024. As for Europe, nothing is decided for now…

Nevertheless, it is not a big risk to state that the Tesla Cybertruck will be a commercial success. Its positioning is so divisive that it will go down in automotive history, whether we like it or not. And that is Musk’s genius. And for every Cybertruck sold, how many Model Y or Model 3 units have been sold to join Tesla’s “pragmatic” community?

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