Voice of America
22 Nov 2019, 16:05 GMT+10
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is taking on the workhorse heavy pickup truck market with his latest electric vehicle.
The "cybertruck," an electric pickup truck, will be in production in 2021, Musk said at the Los Angeles Auto Show Thursday.
The pickup, which Musk said will cost $39,900 and up, will have an estimated battery range of more than 500 miles.
With the launch, Tesla is edging into the most profitable corner of the U.S. auto market, where buyers tend to have fierce brand loyalty.
Brand-loyal buyers
Many pickup buyers stick with the same brand for life, choosing a truck based on what their mom or dad drove or what they decided was the toughest model, said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
"They're very much creatures of habit," Gordon said. Getting a loyal Ford F-150 buyer to consider switching to another brand such as a Chevy Silverado, "it's like asking him to leave his family," he said.
Tesla's pickup is more likely to appeal to weekend warriors who want an electric vehicle that can handle some outdoor adventure. And it could end up cutting into Tesla's electric vehicle sedan sales instead of winning over traditional pickup truck drivers.
"The needs-based truck buyer, the haulers, the towers at the worksites of the world, that's going to be a much tougher sell," said Akshay Anand, executive analyst at Kelley Blue Book.
However, it will help Musk fill out his portfolio and offer a broader range of electric vehicles.
"Elon Musk is trying to not be one-dimensional when it comes to automotive," said Alyssa Altman, transportation lead at digital consultancy Publicis Sapient. "He doesn't want to look like he only has a small selection. He wants to build a brand with a diverse offering and in doing that he wants to see where he could enter in the market."
Electric truck competition
Musk stands to face competition when his truck hits the market. Ford, which has long dominated the pickup landscape, plans to launch an all-electric F-150 pickup. General Motors CEO Mary Barra said that its battery-electric pickup will come out by the fall of 2021.
Rivian, a startup based near Detroit, plans to begin production in the second half of 2020 on an electric pickup that starts at $69,000 and has a battery range of 400-plus miles (643.7-kilometers). The Rivian truck will be able to tow 11,000 pounds (4,989.5 kilograms), go from zero to 60 mph (96.6 kph) in three seconds and wade into 3 feet (0.91 meters) of water, the company said. Ford said in April it would invest $500 million in Rivian.
Tesla has struggled to meet delivery targets for its sedans, and some fear the new vehicle will shift the company's attention away from the goal of more consistently meeting its targets.
"We have yet to see Tesla really make good on some of the very tight deadlines they imposed on themselves, and this has the added challenge of having architecture that is going to be challenging because we haven't seen an EV pickup before," said Jeremy Acevedo, manager of industry analysis at Edmunds.
Get a daily dose of San Diego Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to San Diego Sun.
More InformationDUMAGUETE CITY, Dec. 2 (PIA) -- For 10 years now, the ONE Rescue Emergency Medical Service (EMS) or Oriental Negros ...
WASHINGTON - Some Native American children fear bullying and harassment so much, they hide their ethnicity at school, according to ...
NEW YORK - Renee Zellweger, Brad Pitt and Eddie Murphy are locks. But whether "Cats" has it in the bag, ...
WASHINGTON - Actress Sally Field, singer Linda Ronstadt and the disco-funk band Earth Wind and Fire awaited their turn in ...
NEW YORK - Will Smith still feels "emotional" about homelessness years after playing a destitute man in one of his ...
NEW YORK - New York City lawmakers are poised to adopt legislation requiring "bird-friendly" glass on all new construction in ...
SYDNEY, Australia - Stocks across Asia rose on Monday in a positive start to the week.Gains however were modest.The British ...
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - China Friday said it had taken 'reciprocal' measures against US diplomats in the country, who will have ...
Armenia's government has proposed a budget with significantly higher revenues and expenses than in previous years.The 2020 draft budget projects ...
Five people were killed, 18 were injured and several more were left stranded after an island volcano popular with tourists ...
New Delhi [India], Dec 9 (ANI): The government has a well-thought-out agenda for reforms to beat current slowdown in the ...
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Dec 9 (ANI): Equity benchmark indices ended on Monday with marginal gains after a volatile session on ...