Four years after its release, Tesla Cybertruck (hereinafter referred to as "Cyberpickup") has finally started delivery. The pickup truck market has thus ushered in a wave of change.
Looking back at the years that the Cyber pickup truck has gone through, Tesla has gone through many painful moments because of this model. Tesla CEO Musk once said during the 2023 Q3 earnings conference call, "I can't tell you how much blood, sweat, and tears it will take to achieve the goal of mass production of Cyber Trucks.".
Now, the Cyber pickup truck has finally been delivered, although it is much higher than the official price announced in 2019, it is still popular, and its current order volume has exceeded 2 million units. On the other side of the ocean, Chinese consumers are also paying attention to when this car can enter China and be driven by consumers.
Within less than a week of delivery, Tesla's Cyber pickup truck continuously launched peripherals and "patches".
On December 6th, a reporter from Shell Finance learned from Tesla's official website that Tesla has launched a mileage expansion package for Cyber pickup trucks. Just this month, Tesla Mall also launched a peripheral product for the Cyber pickup truck, a cracked car window sticker priced at $55, to make fun of the previous incident where the car window was smashed.
Lin Xianping, Secretary General of the Cultural and Creative Research Institute of Zhejiang University City College, told a reporter from Beike Finance that with the promotion of environmental protection policies and the increasing demand for electric vehicles from consumers, the prospects for the electric pickup truck market are broad. It is predicted that by 2025, the market size of electric pickup trucks in the United States will reach 5 billion US dollars.
After four years of production, where is the difficulty in building a Cyber pickup truck?
On December 6th, Tesla's official website updated the mileage expansion package for Cyber pickup trucks.
Before using the expansion pack, the Beast version of the Cyber pickup had a range of 515 kilometers, and after use, it had a range of 705 kilometers. This large "power bank" allows the car to drive an additional 190 kilometers. The original range of the all wheel drive version is 547 kilometers, and after using the expansion pack, the range is 755 kilometers, which can drive an additional 208 kilometers. This move has added a lot of hard power to the Cyber pickup truck.
However, it is reported that the price of this "power bank" may reach 16000 US dollars, equivalent to approximately 114400 Chinese yuan. Spending over 100000 yuan to add 200 kilometers, will consumers pay for it?
You should know that the discounted starting price of Cybertruck is $49890 (approximately RMB 356000), while the discounted starting price is $60990 (approximately RMB 435000). If this "power bank" is added, the starting price after the discount has exceeded 470000 yuan.
Behind Tesla's frequent updates on Cyber pickup truck related information, this car has gone through four years from release, release to delivery. As many fans as there are expectations for this car, there are experts who criticize it. Musk even described the difficulty of mass production of this car as digging a pit for himself in financial reports.
Over the course of four years, Musk experienced despair, mainly due to many issues encountered during the manufacturing and testing of early prototype cars, such as steel strength and body sealing. In addition, the research and production costs of electric pickup trucks are also high, which is a challenge for companies like Tesla.
Hong Yong, a think tank expert at the China Digital Real Integration 50 Person Forum, told reporters that the development of electric pickup trucks is a complex task for any car manufacturer. Specifically for Tesla Cyber Trucks, the research and development process may face many technical challenges, such as battery technology, vehicle structure, charging facilities, and so on. As an entrepreneur, Musk may have faced some setbacks and difficulties in the research and development process, but this is a normal innovation process.
Pan Jun, Director of Global Commodity Strategy Consulting at Bain Company, analyzed to reporters that the development of Cyber Trucks faces difficulties mainly due to its unique design and manufacturing process.
In the view of economist and new financial expert Yu Fenghui, the difficulties in the development of electric pickup trucks are due to the differences in structural design, battery technology, suspension system, etc. compared to traditional fuel pickup trucks, which require overcoming many technical difficulties. Moreover, electric pickup trucks also need to consider how to address issues such as charging facilities and range, which require a significant amount of research and development time and investment.
Will Cyber pickup trucks disrupt the pickup truck market?
The video of the first delivery event shows that this futuristic Cyber pickup truck can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers in 2.7 seconds, surpassing the Porsche 911.
Cyber pickup trucks are more practical than trucks and faster than sports cars. Tesla stated that after the delivery of the Cyber pickup truck, it will usher in a wave of transformation similar to the Model Y in the passenger car market.
With the increasing awareness of environmental protection and the continuous progress of electric vehicle technology, more and more consumers are showing interest in electric pickup trucks.
According to third-party organizations, the current order volume of Cyber pickup trucks has exceeded 2 million units. It is reported that pickup trucks are a very large market. In 2022, global pickup truck sales exceeded 5.65 million units, with the North American market (mainly the United States) being the largest pickup truck market, with annual sales exceeding 2.7 million units.
Hong Yong pointed out that the electric pickup truck market has experienced rapid development in recent years, and its prospects are considered broad. In addition, electric pickup trucks have potential applications in both commercial and personal consumption fields, such as logistics transportation, wilderness exploration, etc. Therefore, the electric pickup truck market is expected to become an important growth area.
Pan Jun also believes that the electric pickup truck market has gradually heated up in the past few years, with more and more car manufacturers joining in. As the main battlefield of the pickup truck market, the United States has a very broad prospect for electric pickup trucks. With the promotion of environmental policies and the increasing demand for electric vehicles from consumers, the electric pickup truck market is expected to further expand. The unique design and performance parameters of Tesla's Cyber pickup truck make it competitive in the market.
Yu Fenghui believes that the government's support and encouragement for new energy vehicles have also provided assistance for the development of the electric pickup truck market.
Lin Xianping pointed out that the production and development of Cyber pickup trucks will drive the coordinated development of related industrial chains, including batteries, charging facilities, sales and services. This is expected to stimulate other car manufacturers to accelerate the research and marketing process of electric pickup trucks, and promote overall innovation in the industry.
Cyber pickup will take Tesla flying? Still facing a profit test
Tesla's total revenue in the third quarter of this year increased by 9% year-on-year, reaching $23.4 billion. Due to the growth in vehicle delivery volume and other parts of the business, revenue has achieved good results.
However, Tesla's revenue, net profit, and operating profit margin have all experienced significant declines. Among them, the operating revenue decreased to 1.8 billion US dollars year-on-year, and the operating profit margin was 7.6%. This is mainly due to increased operating costs caused by Cybertruck, AI, and other R&D projects.
Does this mean that if production and sales cannot be rapidly expanded, Cyber pickup trucks may be a double-edged sword for Tesla's performance?
There are reports that after the Cyber pickup truck launch event, Tesla's stock price did not rise but fell. Previously, industry insiders suggested that Tesla should cancel its Cyber pickup project because it is unlikely to achieve profitability.
The rear wheel drive, all wheel drive, and beast versions of the Cyber pickup truck are currently priced at $49890, $68890, and $96390 on the US official website. This is much higher than the price announced in 2019.
This also means that Tesla needs to control vehicle costs. As early as the 2021 financial report conference call, Tesla stated that after achieving continuous breakthroughs in Model Y's annualized production capacity and a significant increase in delivery volume, Tesla has started production of Cyber pickup trucks. The price of Cyber pickup trucks must be reasonable and cost control is necessary. The current goal is to manufacture 250000 vehicles annually.
Gary Blake, co-founder and managing partner of Future Fund, pointed out that due to pickup trucks occupying a 20% share of the US automotive market, Tesla's total sales in 2022 were 2.7 million units. Tesla's future sales will significantly increase with the launch of Cyber pickup trucks - he expects Tesla's sales to increase by 53% in 2024.
Compared to the US market, Lin Xianping stated, "The acceptance of electric pickup trucks in the Chinese market is relatively low, and the demand is relatively small. This also brings certain difficulties to the research and promotion of Cyber pickup trucks. Tesla's technological breakthrough in the field of electric pickup trucks also requires time and capital investment."
Hong Yong told reporters that the delivery of the Cyber pickup truck is of great benefit to Tesla. As Tesla's first product in the electric pickup market, the Cyber pickup truck is expected to further expand Tesla's market share in the global automotive market. Secondly, by introducing pickup trucks, Tesla can further consolidate its leadership position in the electric vehicle field and increase brand awareness and influence.
Yu Fenghui believes that the delivery of Cyber pickup trucks can further enrich Tesla's product line, improve brand competitiveness, attract more consumers, promote sales growth, and promote Tesla's research and development in the field of electric pickup trucks, further improving its technological level and market competitiveness in new energy vehicles.
New Beijing News Shell Finance Reporter Lin Zi