The Tesla pickup truck, described by Elon Musk as “the coolest car I’ve ever seen,” is now looking at a November reveal at the earliest, according to a tweet from the Tesla CEO. The science-fiction inspired electric pickup truck had been expected to arrive this summer, or October at the latest, based on previous statements made by the notoriously optimistic Musk.
Beyond an early concept image of a pickup shown at the unveiling of the Tesla Semi in 2017 and an image tweeted in May, little is known about the Tesla pickup truck. Musk described it as follows in a Recode interview with Kara Swisher last year:
“It’s gonna be like a really futuristic-like cyberpunk, “Blade Runner” pickup truck. It’s gonna be awesome, it’s gonna be amazing. This will be heart-stopping. It stops my heart. It’s like, oh, it’s great.”
”It’s gonna have a lot of titanium,” Musk added later.
Musk already said that he doesn’t care if anyone buys the Tesla passion project, conceding that he’d build a more conventional pickup in the future if it doesn’t sell.
The Tesla pickup will face stiff competition whenever it does launch. Ford’s been teasing its all-electric F-150 for a while, choosing to focus on how similar it is to Ford’s best selling pickups while preaching the “Ford tough” mantra. The electric F-150 could hit dealerships as early as 2021. Buyers looking for something a bit more futuristic — but available in 2020 — might be tempted by the $69,000 R1T from US-based automotive startup Rivian. Ford is also partnering with VW on a medium-sized e-pickup that could arrive by 2022. In April, GM committed to building a full-sized electric pickup, with plans to launch it “when competitively appropriate.”
While you wait, there’s always the Simone Giertz Model 3 conversion if you’re handy with a blowtorch and absolutely must have a Tesla pickup truck right now.