A Years-Long Ordeal For Cybertruck Buyers Is Almost Over (Maybe)

If you believe Tesla’s latest marketing, deliveries of the long-awaited Cybertruck will finally start later this week — albeit with a very small batch of just 10 models at an event scheduled for tomorrow.

But with years of delays already behind them and a precious few details about what the vehicle will actually include, many of the once-enthusiastic prospective buyers who sent Tesla a $100 deposit are starting to lose their optimism.

Moving the goalposts

Tesla built up a lot of goodwill with consumers and media outlets when it announced way back in 2019 that it would be entering the highly competitive truck market with its distinctly futuristic (some would say ugly) Cybertruck.

Some of those early promises have since been modified or completely rescinded, though, including several supposed release dates that kept getting pushed back.

Here’s what the company told us four years ago:

• Pricing would start under $40,000
• Drivers could expect a range of up to 500 miles
• Its fastest 0-60 time would be under 3 seconds

Two years later, those stats were no longer on the website. And since then, everyone’s pretty much been speculating without any real information emerging from Tesla.

Teasing the release

Tomorrow’s launch party will hopefully answer some of those nagging questions, and Tesla has been dropping more hints than usual — along with some promotional photos — recently.

For example, new information was released last week that suggested the Cybertruck would have a towing capacity of 11,000 pounds. But even if the debut goes well, is it too late for the Cybertruck to regain the positive vibes it has squandered over the course of four years?

Tesla has some die-hard fans out there, to be sure. But the U.S. pickup truck market is tight and many consumers already have their chosen brand.

Chris Agee November 29th, 2023

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