Select variants of the Tesla Cybertruck can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.1 seconds|Lcaa9|CC BY-SA 4.0

After over three years of snags and delays, Tesla began the delivery of its much-hyped, Roblox-looking bulletproof Cybertruck on Thursday. Starting at $60,990, the EV pickup truck has a range of 340 miles.

CEO Elon Musk called it “a better truck than a truck, while also being a better sports car than a sports car in the same package” at the launch event in Austin, Texas. Select variants can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.1 seconds with a top speed of 112 miles per hour.

Tesla shares closed lower yesterday by about 2% and were flat after hours.

The Cybertruck was unveiled in 2019, after which Tesla took $100 refundable “reservations” for it. The company claims more than 1 million people have booked the truck so far. But auto market analysts expect only half of them to follow through with the purchase.

Why?
The rollout comes at a time of reduced demand for electric pickup trucks in the US and when cars remain expensive for the average American.

Competitors, including Ford, GM and EV-maker Rivian, began selling more utilitarian electric pickups since the Cybertruck introduction in 2019. This week, Rivian started offering leasing options, like Tesla, for its EVs.

In an October earnings call, Musk agreed that making the Cybertruck cash flow positive is an enormous challenge.

Another humongous challenge Musk faces is getting advertisers’ money into the X. 

More than 200 advertisers halted their spending on the platform a few weeks back. Brands that pulled off advertising say they have no plans of returning—especially after Musk dropped the f-bomb on them.

Advertisers are boycotting the platform following Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic post. He has since apologized for it.