Reuters
- Elon Musk doesn't care if the Cybertruck doesn't sell, he said Thursday.
- The Tesla CEO admitted the truck looks like nothing else on the market today.
- Musk also took a swipe at the other truck makers, saying all their models look the same.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Elon Musk dismissed criticism of the Tesla Cybertruck on Thursday following an article from that compared the futuristic vehicle to "a one-off Hot Wheels toy come to life."
"To be frank, there is always some chance that Cybertruck will flop, because it is so unlike anything else. I don't care," Musk tweeted. "I love it so much even if others don't."
"Other trucks look like copies of the same thing, but Cybertruck looks like it was made by aliens from the future," he added.
-Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2021
In further tweets, Musk said Tesla is keeping the same production design that it unveiled in 2019 with "just some small tweaks here and there to make it slightly better."
Instead of door handles, Musk said the truck will recognize its owner and open automatically, and that it would have four-wheel steering for tighter turns.
As the second anniversary of the Cybertruck announcement approaches, Tesla has yet to begin scaling up its manufacturing of the vehicle while offerings from competitors like Rivian and Ford grab headlines.
"If we get lucky, we'll be able to do a few deliveries toward the end of this year, but I expect volume production to be in 2022," Musk told investors back in January.
Musk acknowledged then that concepts are relatively simple compared to actually getting vehicles produced and on the road.
"Prototypes are easy, scaling production is very hard," he said.
On the TTAC blog that sparked the conversation, Tim Healey said that with the announcement of Dodge's EV Ram truck, each of the Big Three Detroit automakers will have an electric truck offering - plus the marketing and manufacturing experience to deliver.
"Once the initial wave of enthusiasm dies down, the Cybertruck will be outshone by the competition," Healey wrote. "I think the Cybertruck just won't sell well, and Tesla will soon find itself working on a more conventional electric pickup."
Pricing for the Cybertruck starts at $39,900, and various estimates put the number of refundable $100 reservations somewhere between 650,000 and 1 million. Production will most likely take place at Tesla's newest factory near Austin, Texas when it is finished.