Tesla’s Cybertruck feels like an SUV; price, lower driving range upset some By Reuters

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<span>© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of a Tesla electric vehicle is placed on a car outside a dealership in Drogenbos, Belgium November 25, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo</span><br />
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<p>By Abhirup Roy, Hyunjoo Jin and Chavi Mehta</p>
<p>SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Tesla&#8217;s pricier-than-expected Cybertruck pickup, which offers driving ranges that fell well short of what CEO Elon Musk had promised, has deeply disappointed some but fascinated others with its futuristic, SUV-like feel.</p>
<p>The Cybertruck, two years behind schedule, enters a hot pickup truck market to compete with the likes of Ford (NYSE:)&#8217;s F150 Lightning, Rivian (NASDAQ:) Automotive&#8217;s R1T and General Motors (NYSE:)&#8217; Hummer EV.</p>
<p>Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who was among the first dozen customers to pick up the vehicle on Thursday, said the Cybertruck drives and feels like Tesla (NASDAQ:)&#8217;s Model X sport utility vehicle.</p>
<p>&#8220;Initial feeling about this vehicle &#8211; smooth, drives a lot like my Model X. It is big but not unwieldy,&#8221; Ohanian said as he live-streamed his first drive of the Cybertruck on social media platform X. He said he&#8217;d be the &#8220;coolest dad&#8221; picking up his kid at school.</p>
<p>Starting at $60,990, the Cybertruck is over 50% more expensive than what CEO Elon Musk had touted in 2019. That may narrow the appeal of the vehicle. Tesla&#8217;s stock is down over 2% since before the launch.</p>
<p>Among those disappointed is Texas-based financial services executive Christian Cook, who had booked a Cybertruck in 2019 after Musk promised a cheaper pickup that travels farther on a single charge.</p>
<p>&#8220;The truck pricing and range is a huge let down,&#8221; Cook, who drives a Model 3 and told Reuters he had made certain financial decisions based on his plans to buy a Cybertruck. &#8220;My respect for Musk has taken a huge hit. My loyalty to Tesla has taken a huge hit.&#8221;</p>
<p>CFRA analyst Garrett Nelson said the steep price tag will lead to customers cancelling reservations and expects Tesla to adjust the pricing based on demand going ahead.</p>
<p>The Cybertruck, made of shiny, bullet-proof stainless steel and inspired from a car-turned-submarine from a James Bond movie, is likely to uplift Tesla&#8217;s brand that has been dented from steep price cuts to boost demand, according to analysts and branding experts. </p>
<p>&#8220;The Cybertruck gets a lot of attention. It brings Tesla back top of mind,&#8221; said Spencer Imel, a partner at consumer insights firm Langston.</p>
<p>&#8220;But we don&#8217;t see it helping Tesla gain ground in terms of becoming a mass market brand and competing with brands like Ford that are serving the everyday car buyer,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Indeed, the electric pickup&#8217;s price and longer wait time for significant financial payoff left analysts concerned.</p>
<p>Musk&#8217;s personal ability to build the Tesla brand has also been questioned this week after a live interview in which he cursed out advertisers who left his X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, over antisemitic material.</p>
<p>That was creating nervousness among investors and some consumers and could be drag on Tesla&#8217;s appeal, said Allen Adamson, co-founder of brand and marketing consultancy Metaforce.</p>
<p>&#8220;Many of Tesla&#8217;s early adopters who bought into the dream of a sustainable future are being kind of rudely woken up,&#8221; by some of the &#8220;strange things&#8221; he has done, turning him from a &#8220;rebel&#8221; into a &#8220;misguided person&#8221; for some people, said JP Kuehlwein, an adjunct professor of marketing at Columbia University Business School.</p>
<p>Cybertruck will not do much for Tesla&#8217;s financials next year, analysts said. Bernstein forecast 250 deliveries this year and 75,000 for next year, saying both &#8220;may be ambitious&#8221;. </p>
<p>Musk has said Tesla was likely to reach a production rate of roughly 250,000 Cybertrucks a year in 2025.</p>
<p>The company has repeatedly warned that it would face significant challenges in ramping the product and becoming free cash flow positive &#8211; likely not until mid-2025 &#8211; which could negatively impact profitability.</p>
<p>A brand refresh will be critical for Tesla, especially at a time when the company is battling softening electric-vehicle demand as well as rising competition.</p>
<p>&#8220;Tesla has a product problem &#8211; i.e., an older line-up that does not address enough of the market, and has no new mass market offerings until likely late 2025,&#8221; Bernstein analysts added. </p>
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<br /><a href="https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/tesla-falls-on-long-wait-for-cybertruck-payoff-hefty-price-tag-3247925">Source link </a></p><p>The post <a href="https://forextraderhub.com/teslas-cybertruck-feels-like-an-suv-price-lower-driving-range-upset-some-by-reuters.html">Tesla’s Cybertruck feels like an SUV; price, lower driving range upset some By Reuters</a> first appeared on <a href="https://forextraderhub.com">Forex Trader Hub</a>.</p>

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