The looks and pricing of the Tesla Cybertruck proved to be the most off-putting aspects for respondents in a recent survey. Respondents are confirmed to not be Cybertruck reservation holders, who number in the millions. In the survey, as many as 67% people said they would not buy a Cybertruck.
When the Tesla Cybertruck was first announced back in 2019, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, announced a starting price of just $49,000, topping out at an MSRP of $60,990 for the tri-motor variant. Shortly after the Cybertruck Delivery Event on November 30, it was revealed that the entry-level Cybertruck will actually start at $60,990, while the tri-motor Cyberbeast will set buyers back a staggering $99,990.
While many have argued about the pricing outcome online, with some going so far as to day that Tesla is using the price of the Cybertruck as a demand regulator. Whether this is true or not, a recent survey conducted by Cannacord Genuity (via Yahoo! Finance) reveals that as many as 67% of regular consumers would not consider a Cybertruck for their next car purchase.
According to Canaccord analyst George Gianarikas, the looks and the high price of the Cybertruck were the biggest complaints steering people away from the Cybertruck. Despite the seemingly negative result, Gianarikas goes on to say that “that was a lot better than we expected,” indicating that the polarising design might not actually be as polarising as many thought.
Even a Reddit poll in the r/Cybertruck subreddit, where users are more likely to be positive than negative, found that as many as 56% of users (1,300 out of 2,300 votes) were planning on cancelling their reservations. Many comments in this same thread point to pricing as the biggest issue, while others indicate that the less-than-promised range specs are a bigger problem.
It’s not only the price of the Cybertruck that’s making buyers hesitant, but the massive increase between the expected price and the actual final price seems to have left a bitter taste in people’s mouths.
It’s feasible that Tesla might be trying to slow demand for the Cybertruck for now, since there are many reservation holders. As per the community-maintained Cybertruck reservation list, there are now over 2 million reservations waiting in the list.
Elon Musk’s comments at a previous investor call predict that Tesla will soon be able to build 200,000 Cybertrucks per year. Even at that impressive pace, the Cybertruck’s existing order sheet will only be complete in a decade.
For contrast, Ford expects to deliver around 80,000 F-150 Lightnings for the 2023 model year, while Rivian has adjusted expected production volumes for the R1T, settling on 52,000 EVs in 2023.
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Julian van der Merwe – Magazine & Specialist News Writer – 495 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022
My interest in tech started in high school, rooting and flashing my Motorola Defy, but I really fell down the rabbit hole when I realised I could overclock the i7 930 in my Gigabyte pre-built PC. This tinkering addiction eventually lead me to study product design in university. I think tech should improve the lives of the people using it, no matter the field. I like to read and write about laptops, smartphones, software and trends in technology.
