Back in March when Tesla first launched the production Model Y the company hid the above image teasing a pickup truck in the presentation. According to an extremely online Elon Musk Wednesday morning, we would be seeing the launch of that electric pickup truck—dubbed “Cybertruck”—later this month. November 21st, to be precise, near the SpaceX facility in Los Angeles.
That initial teaser of the pickup was embedded within the end credits for 1982's Blade Runner for some reason. And Musk again referenced the film in his tweets this morning, saying that November 2019 in Los Angeles because:
Of course that’s why.
Initially, we heard back in January that we would be seeing the Tesla truck by summer 2019, but that time frame has obviously come and gone. This new November timetable is convenient, as the automotive media collectively will be travelling to Los Angeles for the LA Auto Show around the same time.
While no real official details of the truck have been announced, Musk has previously stated that he aims to see the Tesla pickup priced under $50,000. Then again, he’s also claimed it will have a towing capacity of 300,000 pounds. So, you know, take that with an entire bag of rock salt.
I’m all for an electric pickup, and considering Americans buy more pickups than any other type of vehicle, it seems like the business case is an easy one to manage. With competition set to enter the market from an electric Ford F150 and Amazon-backed Rivian, Tesla is likely to come out swinging in this arena.
I really hope it’s good. I also hope Elon Musk will just shut up for a while. One of these things is likely.