The Cybertruck, two years behind schedule, enters a hot
pickup truck market to compete with the likes of Ford's F150 Lightning, Rivian
Automotive's R1T and General Motors' Hummer EV.
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who was among the first
dozen customers to pick up the vehicle on Thursday, said the Cybertruck drives
and feels like Tesla's Model X sport utility vehicle.
"Initial feeling about this vehicle - smooth, drives a
lot like my Model X. It is big but not unwieldy," Ohanian said as he
live-streamed his first drive of the Cybertruck on social media platform X. He
said he'd be the "coolest dad" picking up his kid at school.
Starting at $60,990, the Cybertruck is over 50 percent more
expensive than what CEO Elon Musk had touted in 2019. That may narrow the
appeal of the vehicle. Tesla's stock is down over 2 percent since before the
launch.
Among those disappointed is Texas-based financial services
executive Christian Cook, who had booked a Cybertruck in 2019 after Musk
promised a cheaper pickup that travels farther on a single charge.
"The truck pricing and range is a huge let down,"
Cook, who drives a Model 3 and told Reuters he had made certain financial
decisions based on his plans to buy a Cybertruck. "My respect for Musk has
taken a huge hit. My loyalty to Tesla has taken a huge hit."
CFRA analyst Garrett Nelson said the steep price tag will
lead to customers cancelling reservations and expects Tesla to adjust the
pricing based on demand going ahead.
The Cybertruck, made of shiny, bullet-proof stainless steel
and inspired from a car-turned-submarine from a James Bond movie, is likely to
uplift Tesla's brand that has been dented from steep price cuts to boost
demand, according to analysts and branding experts.
"The Cybertruck gets a lot of attention. It brings
Tesla back top of mind," said Spencer Imel, a partner at consumer insights
firm Langston.
"But we don't see it helping Tesla gain ground in terms
of becoming a mass market brand and competing with brands like Ford that are
serving the everyday car buyer," he said.
Indeed, the electric pickup's price and longer wait time for
significant financial payoff left analysts concerned.
Musk's personal ability to build the Tesla brand has also
been questioned this week after a live interview in which he cursed out
advertisers who left his X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter,
over antisemitic material.
That was creating nervousness among investors and some
consumers and could be drag on Tesla's appeal, said Allen Adamson, co-founder
of brand and marketing consultancy Metaforce.
"Many of Tesla's early adopters who bought into the
dream of a sustainable future are being kind of rudely woken up," by some
of the "strange things" he has done, turning him from a
"rebel" into a "misguided person" for some people, said JP
Kuehlwein, an adjunct professor of marketing at Columbia University Business
School.
Cybertruck will not do much for Tesla's financials next
year, analysts said. Bernstein forecast 250 deliveries this year and 75,000 for
next year, saying both "may be ambitious".
Musk has said Tesla was likely to reach a production rate of
roughly 250,000 Cybertrucks a year in 2025.
The company has repeatedly warned that it would face
significant challenges in ramping the product and becoming free cash flow
positive - likely not until mid-2025 - which could negatively impact
profitability.
A brand refresh will be critical for Tesla, especially at a
time when the company is battling softening electric-vehicle demand as well as
rising competition.
"Tesla has a product problem - i.e., an older line-up
that does not address enough of the market, and has no new mass market
offerings until likely late 2025," Bernstein analysts added. © Reuters