Tesla Debuts Electric ‘Cybertruck’ Pickup With Futuristic Looks and Supercar Speed

Elon Musk says the “Blade Runner”-inspired truck hits 60 mph in just 2.9 seconds, tows 14,000 pounds, and can go 500 miles on a single charge.

Brandon Friederich

Nov 22, 2019

Tesla CEO Elon Musk finally unveiled the company’s all-electric pickup at a design studio in Hawthorne, California, and it’s even more radical than anyone could have imagined.

For starters, the Tesla “Cybertruck” has sci-fi movie-like looks to match its futuristic name, with an extraordinarily angular stainless steel shell molded into a trapezoid shape inspired by the classic 1982 movie Blade Runner. Musk demonstrated the exterior’s strength by hitting it with a sledgehammer to little effect at the event, and claimed it can even withstand small-caliber gunshots.

The truck’s “unbreakable” metal-glass windows, however, were damaged significantly after a metal ball was thrown at them by a Tesla designer during the unveiling, CNN reports. “But it didn’t go through,” Musk pointed out to the crowd.

That internet-viral incident is forgivable in light of the some seriously outstanding performance figures. Musk claims that it’ll hit 60 mph in 2.9 seconds, making it even quicker than a close competitor: the Rivian R1T electric pickup. For perspective, the Cybertruck’s acceleration is right up there with that of sub-three-second supercars like the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster and the flagship Chevrolet Corvette ZR1.

CNET’s Road Show fittingly compared it to the Ford F-150, the top-selling vehicle in the U.S. The Tesla measures 231.1 inches long, 79.8 inches wide and 75 inches tall, while the Ford measures between 209 and 250 inches long, 80 and 86 inches wide and 75 and 78.5 inches tall. While the Tesla’s size is comparable, it has an estimated 14,000-pound maximum towing capacity, which is significantly more than the Ford’s 13,200-pound maximum towing capacity.

Musk also revealed that the Cybertruck will be offered with three specs and prices: a rear-wheel drive, single-motor base model for $39,900, an all-wheel drive, dual-motor mid-range model for $49,900, and an all-wheel-drive tri-motor model for $69,000. Range varies from 250 to an impressive “500-plus” miles for the latter. All interiors seat six adults and come equipped with a 17-inch touchscreen.