Tesla challenges Detroit 3 with pickup; launch marred by cracked windows

After years of promising an electric pickup that could outperform offerings from the Detroit 3, Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Thursday revealed an angular vehicle that failed to withstand a 25-minute presentation.

Musk promised exhilarating performance out of the so-called Cybertruck, with acceleration from 0 to 60 mph (97 kph) in 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 130 mph (209 kph).

But the pickup could use some more testing before production is slated to begin in late 2021: The truck was described as having windows made from armored glass. But its side window broke twice during an on-stage strength demonstration when chief designer Franz von Holzhausen threw a metal ball at it to test its durability.

The four-door, six-seat pickup starts at $39,900 in the U.S. with a base range of more than 250 miles (402 km). The most expensive variant starts at $69,900 and will get more than 500 miles range, Tesla said. By comparison, the current maximum range of a Tesla car is 370 miles for its long-range Model S sedan.

It has a towing capacity of more than 14,000 lbs (454 kg) and a payload of up to 3,500 lbs.

Following the reveal, Tesla immediately began taking online pre-orders for a deposit of just $100.

"We need sustainable energy now. If we don't have a pickup truck, we can't solve it. The top 3 selling vehicles in America are pickup trucks. To solve sustainable energy, we have to have a pickup truck," Musk said at a launch event in Los Angeles.

The pickup looks unlike anything on the market today. With sharp lines and a sloping front end, the pickup resembles a futuristic concept vehicle more than anything close to an existing production model.

"Trucks have been the same for a very long time, like 100 years," Musk said, as an audience watched at a slideshow of pickup designs throughout the decades. "We need something different."

"The looks are polarizing, but the performance and pricing specs are undeniable," Karl Brauer, executive publisher for Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader, said in a statement.

"There will be plenty of demand for the cyber truck, even if only current Tesla fans want one. How far beyond Tesla’s customer base will the cyber truck reach? I suspect current pickup truck buyers will find its exterior design and electric drivetrain too far of a leap for most of them to make," he said.

Brauer, however, did not write off its chances. "If Tesla can produce a sufficient number of cyber trucks, and if the early adopters are fully satisfied, the cyber truck could cross into traditional truck markets, and that is a massive segment if Tesla can tap into it,” he said.

Tesla is hoping to continue its history of industry disruption with the pickup, which it thinks can find a niche in a profitable segment the Detroit 3 have dominated for decades.

Musk repeatedly referenced the Ford F-150, which has been best-selling vehicle in the U.S. for the past 42 years. He showed a video of the Cyber truck allegedly beating an F-50 in a tug-of-war contest.

The body is made of "ultra-hard 30X cold-rolled stainless steel," according to Tesla.

In another dig at the F-150 and its aluminum body, Tesla said Thursday that "if there was something better, we’d use it."

Ford spokesman Mike Levine did not respond to a request for comment, but tweeted out a GIF of a laughing Ryan Gosling.

Analysts following the reveal were skeptical the vehicle could make a dent in the lucrative pickup segment, especially with Ford and General Motors both working on their own electric pickups.

GM CEO Mary Barra said the automaker's first electric pickup truck model will go on sale in the fall of 2021. "It will be a very capable truck, I'm pretty excited about it," Barra said at an investor conference in New York on Thursday.

Ford aims to sell an electric F-series in late 2021, Reuters reported.

Electric pickups and SUVs could help Ford and GM generate the significant EV sales they will need to meet tougher emission standards and EV mandates in California and other states. The Trump administration is moving to roll back those standards, but electric trucks are a hedge if California prevails

Demand for full-size electric pickups in the near term may not be huge. Industry tracking firm IHS Markit estimates the electric truck segment - both full- and midsize models - will account for about 75,000 sales in 2026, compared with an expected 3 million light trucks overall. The Tesla pickup is not part of that estimate.

Tesla's pickup "will be a niche product at best and poses no threat in the pickup market as we know it today," Matt DeLorenzo, senior executive editor at Kelley Blue Book, said in a statement. "The other downside is that this truck will have no federal tax credits by the time it comes out.”

Tesla's Model 3 sedan is the world's top-selling battery electric car. The California-based automaker has so far sold mostly Model S and Model 3 sedans, but also offers the Model X SUV and starting next year the Model Y compact SUV.

Reactions on Twitter ranged from love to hate of Tesla's sharply angled vehicle.

"I just watched tesla release the #cybertruck and honestly? My life feels complete," wrote @aidan_tenud, while @nateallensnyde wrote "Its nice to see Elon Musk make a cardboard box car he drew in kindergarten."

Musk earlier tweeted that the design was partly influenced by the Lotus Esprit sports-car that doubled as a submarine in the 1970s James Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me" as well as by the movie Blade Runner.

Reuters contributed to this report