Elon Musk admits Tesla’s Cybertruck could fail

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a conversation with fans on Twitter on Thursday that there was “always a chance” that his company’s future Cybertruck “flopped.” Nonetheless, Musk plans to keep Cybertruck’s “production design” almost exactly the same as his show car – a giant metal trapeze.

But he also said he “doesn’t care” about the risk that the Cybertruck might fail, because he personally loves its design.

He wrote, “To be blunt, there’s always a chance Cybertruck will fail, because it isn’t like anything else. I don’t care. I love it so much even if others don’t. Others trucks look like copies of the same thing, but Cybertruck appears to have been made by aliens from the future. “

The Cybertruck launch event in 2019 caused a stir because of the vehicle’s unusual design and because Musk asked Tesla’s chief design officer, Franz von Holzhausen, to try and smash the vehicle’s windows, which ‘he did. Von Holzhausen threw a metal ball at one of the windows, surprising Musk when the glass shattered, although it remained in place.

Despite the launch snafu and uncertainty as to when Tesla can start shipping the Cybertruck, orders for $ 100 have poured in. Musk boasted that he saw 250,000 people about a week after Cybertruck debuted.

In September, at Tesla’s annual shareholders meeting and Battery Day event, Musk revealed that Tesla had received so many orders from Cybertruck that the company stopped counting. “The orders are gigantic,” he said, “… well over half a million orders. I think maybe six hundred thousand – that’s a lot, basically. We stopped. to count. “

That was before competitors unveiled their plans for more traditional battery-powered trucks, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning and the GMC Hummer EV.

Musk also said Thursday that Tesla has no plans to put door handles on the Cybertruck, without specifying whether such a vehicle could meet federal motor vehicle safety standards in the United States. He also reminded fans that Tesla has decided to add a four-wheel steering system. to the large Cybertruck, which should allow it to move diagonally in a straight line and enter or exit certain tight spots.

He wrote, “In the end, we kept the production design almost exactly the same as the show car. Just a few small tweaks here and there to improve it slightly. No door handles. recognizes and opens the door. Having all-wheel steering is amazing for agile handling & tight turns! “

The four-wheel steering feature, if it comes to fruition as promised, would make the Cybertruck more directly competitive with the GMC Hummer EV, which already had a “crab mode” feature.

Musk has not commented on the Tesla Cyberquad, an ATV product that was slated to accompany the Cybertruck.

In the company’s first quarter investor presentation, Tesla called the Cybertruck “in development.” The company is expected to provide a progress and second quarter results update on July 26.