Elon Musk, Tesla kick off Cybertruck launch, deliver first trucks at Giga Texas in Austin
I’m Kara Carlson, a technology reporter for Statesman. I’ve been covering Tesla, along with Elon Musk’s other companies expansion into the Austin area since Tesla first announced its expansion into Central Texas in 2020.
I will be keeping you posted along with Statesman Business Editor David Dishman as the event progresses.
Feel free to follow the following link to view the live stream of Tesla's event. But follow along with us here for thoughts and analysis as the event progresses.
Watch live: Tesla Cybertruck unveiling event in Austin
How big is the Cybertruck and what other features does it have?
Tesla included details on specs, dimensions and warranty for two of its Cybertruck models online following the event. The Cyberbeast and All-Wheel Drive models include seating for five adults, 120.9 cubic feet of cargo space, vehicle warranty for up to 4 years or 50,000 miles, as well as battery and drive unit warranty of 8 years or 150,000 miles.
The vehicle models both have the same dimensions, with a length of 223.7 inches, width of 95 inches and height of 70.5 inches. The vehicles also have 20-inch wheels. Comparatively, a 2024 Ford F150 Lightning is 232 inches long, 80 inches wide and 77 inches tall.
The Cyberbeast model weighs in at 6,845 lbs, while the All-Wheel drive model weighs in at 6,603 lbs. The models also vary slightly on charging speed, with the Cyberbeast able to charge up to 128 miles in 15 minutes, and the All-Wheel drive model able to charge up to 136 miles in 15 minutes.
Powershare abilities
Tesla also showed on the website that the vehicles include the ability to be used to share power with other devices, such as charging other electric vehicles, devices or power tools.
The vehicles include four 120-volt outlets, two in the cabin and two in the cargo bed. The bed also includes a 240-volt outlet.
The vehicle is able to plug into a Tesla Powerwall, or a regular house with equipment that is sold separately. Tesla claims the vehicle could help power a home for about three days.
-Kara Carlson3:35p.m.
How much will Cybertrucks cost?
Following the event, Tesla has dropped pricing and other information for three Cybertruck models, with prices ranging between $60,000 and nearly $100,000. They will start deliveries in 2024 and 2025.
Rear-wheel drive
Price: $60,990
Available in 2025
250 mile range
Able to go 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds
All wheel drive
Price: $79,990
Available in 2024
340 mile range
Top speed: 112 mph
600 horsepower
7,436 lb-ft torque
11,000 lb towing capacity.
Cyberbeast
Price: $99,990
Available in 2024
320 mile range
0 to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds
Top speed: 130 mph
845 horsepower
10,296 lb-ft torque
11,000 lb towing capacity
Deposits are being taken to get on a list for order. The deposit amount required is $250, and Tesla says it is refundable.
-Kara Carlson, 3:05 p.m.
Cybertruck event ends about 20 minutes after it's start
After the delayed start, the livestream ended about 20 minutes after it had started.
A number of trucks were "delivered" to their new owners in that time. Each owner got in their truck, and could be briefly seen riding off with a driver.
Alexis Ohanion, a co-founder of Reddit and perhaps more famously known as the husband of Serena Williams, was one of the new owners to receive his truck.
👇 vroom https://t.co/uO9DKbeICS
— Alexis Ohanian 🇦🇲 (@alexisohanian) November 30, 2023
-David Dishman, 2:58 p.m.
Deliveries of the Cybertruck begin
Deliveries are now beginning at the event.
“We are handing over production cybertrucks to their actual owners,” Musk said.
“It’s going to be amazing to see all these cars driving around,” Musk said. “This is really going to change the look of the roads.”
-Kara Carlson, 2:50 p.m.
Is the Cybertruck faster than a Porsche?
A video shown at the event indicated the Cybertruck could tow a Porsche at a race track faster than the Porsche could drive itself.
Musk claimed the truck could go from 0-60 mph in 2.6 seconds
How accurate the video is, remains unclear. There was no live demonstration of the truck's speed.
-David Dishman, 2:45 p.m.
Musk boasts about performance capacity
2,500-pound pay load
Can tow 11,000 lbs
6' long, 4' wide bed
-Kara Carlson, 2:38 p.m.
Durability of the Cybertruck first thing to be highlighted
Musk starts off talking about the truck’s material. He said the steel is made to have no corrosion, didn’t need paint, but could still be made at volume.
Musk said the shape is because you can’t stamp the body panels. The exoskeleton has more torrosional stiffness than a Mclaren.
In callback to the original launch in 2019, designer Franz Von Holzhausen throws a steel ball at the Cybertruck window, this time not shattering it.
-Kara Carlson2:36 p.m.
Elon Musk arrives on stage in a Cybertruck
Just before 2:30, Elon Musk arrived on stage in a Tesla Cybertruck. He quickly began to hype the truck, emerging from the vehicle to a round of applause.
Its "more utility than a truck" while also being "faster than a sports car," according to Musk's presentation.
-David Dishman, 2:30 p.m.
Futuristic video leads off the Cybertruck event
No, your live stream is not broken.
More than 20 minutes after the posted start time, the live broadcast continued to be a futuristic-looking, stylized video of what appears to be parts of the Cybertruck in space. No one has been on to discuss the truck at this point.
-David Dishman, 2:20 p.m.
What Cybertruck could mean for Austin
The event is kicking off now.
Ahead of the event, I talked to Dan Ives, an industry analyst with Wedbush Securities, who said the event is like “the Super Bowl” for Tesla’s Austin facility.
It's about cutting the ribbon and the unveiling of a process that's been four years in the making,” Ives said. “It puts a major spotlight on Austin because the success of Cybertruck rests on the Austin Gigafactory.”
Ives also warned production remains the “biggest hurdle” that other automakers are going to be watching closely.
- Kara Carlson, 2 p.m.
Tesla to launch long awaited Cybertruck
Today Austin-based Tesla is expected to kick off an event to launch the long-awaited Cybertruck around 2 p.m. CT. The company is expected to unveil the latest version of the Cybertruck and deliver the first batch of vehicles — hopefully this time without shattering any windows in the process.
This follows years of delays following Tesla’s unveiling of the original Cybertruck prototype in 2019. The vehicle’s futuristic and militaristic design has gained mixed opinions from the start.
How to watch
Tesla held a drawing to select what shareholders were invited to attend the event in person at the company’s massive Austin-area facility Giga Texas. For the rest of us, Tesla will be streaming the event live on the company’s website.
-Kara Carlson
Musk's mixed signals ahead of the event
Musk has said he expects the truck to be Tesla’s “best product ever.” But the CEO has also repeatedly downplayed expectations and said Tesla expects “enormous challenges” related to scaling up Cybertruck production.”
“We dug our own grave,” Musk said on an investor call earlier this month.
Musk hasn’t said many specific details about what production issues Tesla has been facing. I’m hoping to hear more about what this scale up could look like today, and what that could mean for the Austin facility.
-Kara Carlson
Cybertruck fast facts before its launch day event
The Cybertruck is being produced in Tesla’s Austin-area facility
The Cybertruck was first announced in 2019
Delays in production pushed back the expected launch date numerous times in recent years
At the time it was announced, no other electric trucks were on the market, but Ford, Rivian, and GMC have all released models since then
Musk says the company will be able to produce 250,000 Cybertrucks in Austin in 2025
Musk has warned a ramp up to full production could have challenges
Key information such as updated pricing and specs have yet to be released
-Kara Carlson
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Elon Musk, Tesla launch Cybertruck delivery event in Austin
