Elon Musk’s Tesla has unveiled its latest vehicle, a bizarre pickup truck, to a largely skeptical public. The truck was touted as having “impact-resistant windows” that were promptly smashed inwards with a small metal ball during a live demonstration on Thursday.
Jalopnik reports that Tesla unveiled its latest vehicle at an event at the Tesla Design Center in Los Angeles yesterday, a pickup truck that many have been said looks like an “angry triangle.” So Far, Musk has claimed the pickup truck can be a better truck than the Ford F-150, outperform a Porsche 911, and be “literally bulletproof.” Musk claims all of this can be had for a starting price of under $50,000, but both industry experts and the general public are skeptical.
“Trucks have been the same for a very long time,” Musk said at the event. “We wanted to show you something different… and we need sustainable energy now.” Musk made many claims about the durability of the vehicle, claiming that it is resistant to hammer blows and bullets. Tesla design head Franz vol Holzhausesn came on stage with a sledgehammer and hit the stainless steel body of the truck to demonstrate its strength. “You want a truck that’s really tough. Not fake tough,” Musk said, claiming that the truck’s body could withstand 9mm handgun bullets.
Von Holzhausesn then demonstrated the impact-resistant technology used on the truck’s windows, picking up a stainless steel ball and throwing it after a soft windup at the driver side window. The window promptly smashed, with Elon Musk audibly stating “oh my fucking god,” before instructing Holzhausesn to test the rear passenger window, which also promptly smashed. A video of the incident can be seen below:
Musk claims that the vehicle can tow up to 14,000-pounds, can carry 3,500-pounds, three range options (200 miles, 300 miles, and 500 miles), adaptive air suspension and a base price of $39,900 for the rear-wheel-drive single-motor version. The all-wheel-drive version with the maximum range option and three electric motors will reportedly cost around $69,900. Musk claims that production is set to start in late 2021 and the tri-motor version will begin production in 2022.
Jalopnik’s Patrick George commented on the presentation stating:
And after watching this presentation—much of which felt awkward and rather half-baked—I was left wondering one thing: What did I just watch? Is Musk for real, or were we all just taken for a ride?
Even by Tesla standards, this one’s a leap. We’ll see if Musk proves us wrong, I guess. But if you saw that and were left scratching your head, I think it merely means you are still sane
Social media users were quick to agree with George, with many memes and jokes about the presentation and the pickup truck appearing across Twitter within minutes of the event:
Restaurant chain Denny’s joined in on the action, debuting their future “Dynertruck.”
Time will tell if Tesla’s pickup truck becomes a success, but yesterday’s presentation appeared to leave many wondering if it will ever see the light of day. Breitbart News will continue to cover Tesla and its various products.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.