Sam Krahn 
Amongst (many) other things, 2021 is shaping up to be the year of the electric pickup truck. We’ve already known the Rivian R1T and GMC Hummer EV and are coming in summer and fall respectively, but now the original EV pickup game changer will also join the party this year. That, of course, is the Tesla Cybertruck. If Elon Musk’s comments at yesterday’s earnings call hold true, we can expect the first deliveries to commence at the end of 2021.
Musk said Tesla will make a few deliveries of its high-profile electric truck by the end of 2021, but the volume production will really kick off in 2022. He also said Tesla is past the design and engineering phase with the Cybertruck, so working out production is the next priority. Only thing is, we still have no idea what the final product will look like. And neither do the hundreds of thousands of preorder holders that gave their money to make Elon Musk the richest man alive.
We’ve previously reported Tesla has reworked the polarizing design of the Cybertruck, but its unclear how far the final product strays from the original. We also don’t know if the materials, performance and specs will change. But at the end of the day, this maintains our position that the stainless steel bodied, smashed windowed cheese grater we saw in November 2019 was a concept, not a final product. At the same earnings call, Tesla revealed the updated Model S and Model X, but offered no clues to the Cybertruck other than when it’ll enter production.
Let’s not forget, Tesla has had trouble hitting production start targets in the past, but they seem to be more accurate on their estimates these days.
No matter what it looks like, the Cybertruck will face stiff competition from the GMC Hummer EV and Rivian R1T. Interestingly, however, they all seem to be positioning themselves in front of their own unique audiences. The Hummer is all about style and using clever tech to achieve incredible off-road performance. The Rivian R1T is more understated and sophisticated, and almost feels like the North Face or Patagonia of car manufacturers as they call their products “electric adventure vehicles“. While we will have to wait for the final product to know for sure, the Tesla Cybertruck will probably feel like the most futuristic of the trio.
And more mainstream offerings will also join the class in the next two years. Yesterday, news broke that Ford’s electric F-150 will likely be called the E-150. We also know General Motors has an EV pickup in the works from Chevrolet and GMC that will slot under the Hummer EV. Whether you like the idea of an electric pickup truck or not, there’s no denying they are coming thick and fast, and the Tesla Cybertruck is really the vehicle that made it happen.
