Tesla Motors has just revealed its latest EV, the Cybertruck at SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Like most of its new model releases, the stats and performance figures have been designed to shock but, in this case, the exterior design has drawn more attention than even the Ferrari-rivalling performance of the angular beast.
“Trucks have been the same for a very long time, we wanted to try something different,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Well different in this case means exterior styling that is comprised purely of bold angles, just like the movie cars from your favorite post-apocalyptic 1990s blockbusters.
Divisive styling aside, the technology and ingenuity that has gone into the Cybertruck is impressive. For one it has a stainless steel body capable of withstanding impacts from a sledgehammer–as demonstrated by Tesla design chief Franz von Holzhausen (though throwing a steel ball at the windows didn’t go so well…). The window glass can stop bullets from a handgun, shattering, but remaining intact in the process, and it will be capable of a sub-2.9-second 0-60mph run in its most potent tri-motor form.
The Cybertruck can also do more traditional truck-like things, like hauling 100 cubic feet of cargo, towing up to 14,000 pounds and off-roading with its 16-inches of ground clearance. An adaptive air suspension is standard and approach and departure angles of 35 degrees and 28 degrees respectively are also impressive.
The base model, which will be rear-wheel-drive, be capable of a sub-6.5-second 0-60mph time and have a range of 250 miles, will start at $39,900. The mid-range dual motor model has all-wheel-drive, a 300+ mile range and a price tag of $49,900. The tri-motor range-topper will reputedly be capable of doing 500-miles of supercar humiliation between charges and it can be yours for $69,900. For $100 you can pre-order your very own Tesla Cybertruck. Production is slated for late 2021.
Whether that finished product looks and performs like the vehicle revealed here remains to be seen, but if it manages to deliver on those performance and range figures then it will truly be a revolutionary entrant into the truck category. Perhaps by then someone in the Tesla design department would have added a few curves to those exterior lines too (though we kinda hope they don’t).
Images courtesy of Tesla
