Following a viral storm of jokes and memes over the Cybertruck’s embarrassing debut, Tesla CEO Elon Musk boasted over the weekend that the company had already received 200,000 orders for the electric pickup truck within its first three days of launch, suggesting that customers weren’t immediately put off by the bad PR.
All-electric designs have helped every Tesla vehicle stand out from its competition, but Tesla’s Cybertruck is unconventional even by Tesla’s standards. Other pickup trucks are boxy, with a square cabin in the front and a flatbed in the back. The Cybertruck has a triangular design that looks a bit like the DeLorean in Back to the Future.
The new pickup is expected to begin production in about two years. Tesla says it will start at $39,900 for a model with 250 miles of range. A high-end model with 500 miles of range, three motors, and a 0-60 time of 2.9 seconds will cost $69,900.
The signup rate for Cybertruck pre-orders—200,000 orders in four days—isn’t quite as impressive as for the Model 3 in 2016. Tesla had received 150,000 pre-orders for the Model 3 within hours of the unveiling event and had 275,000 orders in hand a few days later.
