Tesla Inc’s new electric pickup truck has secured almost 150,000 orders, chief executive officer Elon Musk boasted on Twitter, just two days after its big reveal went embarrassingly wrong.
The billionaire Tesla cofounder floundered on stage in California on Thursday last week when the vehicle’s armored glass windows cracked in a demonstration intended to prove their indestructibility.
Shares in the company plunged 6.1 percent following the truck’s bumpy launch and several lackluster reviews, but on Saturday, Musk tweeted that Tesla had already received 146,000 orders from prospective owners.
“146k Cybertruck orders so far, with 42 percent choosing dual, 41 percent tri & 17 percent single motor,” he wrote.
The demand comes despite the product receiving “no advertising & no paid endorsement.”
The Cybertruck is covered in the same steel alloy Musk plans to use for his Space Exploration Technologies Corp Starship rocket and is able to go from 0 to 100kph in about three seconds, Musk said in his presentation.
The entry-level model would have a starting price of US$39,900 and a 400km range, while a deluxe option would be able to travel twice the distance and would sell for US$69,900, he said.
No date has been given for its release, but analysts said that it would not be ready before the end of 2021 at the earliest.
Tesla has a history of unveiling future products to throngs of excited customers, taking deposits and then delivering years later.
Two years ago, it showed off a Semi truck and a next-generation Roadster sports car, but neither vehicle is in production yet.
This spring, Musk unveiled the Model Y crossover, which is slated to begin production next summer.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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