Tesla Cybertruck's entry-level version has been taken off the market. So, is the electric pickup truck a "false proposition"?
This time, Tesla "flipped over"!
According to official information, the rear - wheel drive version (entry - level) of the Tesla Cybertruck has been removed, which means this version is officially taken off the market. However, this is a version that was launched less than half a year ago.
Image source: Tesla's official website in the United States
It should be noted that the Tesla Cybertruck was unveiled as early as November 2019 and didn't start delivery until December 2023. In these four years, Tesla officially announced that the pre - orders of the Tesla Cybertruck exceeded 1 million units. However, the annual sales of the Tesla Cybertruck are only a pitiful 20,000 units.
The rear - wheel drive version of the Tesla Cybertruck is about $10,000 cheaper than the all - wheel drive version. However, although the official launched the entry - level version to attract users with a lower price, the result was not as expected. Only by cutting this version in time could the losses be stopped.
Judging from the attitudes of overseas netizens, the rear - wheel drive version, which seemingly has cost - effectiveness as its main advantage, actually has the most obvious shortcoming in cost - effectiveness.
The value of these cut - off configurations far exceeds $10,000!
Dianchetong searched some comments from overseas netizens. They generally believe that launching the rear - wheel drive version of the Tesla Cybertruck was not a wise move. Apart from the price advantage of being $10,000 cheaper, many core configurations were cut off.
Screenshot: X
Compared with the all - wheel drive version, the rear - wheel drive version not only has one motor removed but also cancels configurations such as the electric truck bed cover, the power interface in the truck bed, and the active air suspension.
Consumers may choose the Tesla Cybertruck because of its unique appearance design, but the essence of the Tesla Cybertruck is still a pickup truck. The removal of these configurations in the rear - wheel drive version greatly weakens its practicality as a pickup truck and makes it a victim of cost - effectiveness.
With a single - motor powertrain, its power, passability, and towing ability are reduced, and these three abilities are exactly what pickup truck users value most. The active suspension
Removing it will affect handling and comfort. It's understandable to remove this configuration to reduce costs, but it's really hard to accept that both the electric truck bed cover and the power interface in the truck bed are cut off.
It should be noted that users use the truck bed to load goods. Not to mention the effort required for manual opening and closing, there may be problems with the sealing of the truck bed. Moreover, as a pure - electric pickup truck, the Tesla Cybertruck provides a manually opened truck bed, and this sense of contrast is hard to accept. After the power interface in the truck bed is cancelled, it means that the outdoor entertainment attribute of the Tesla Cybertruck is also greatly weakened, and users with outdoor power needs will naturally not consider this version.
Dianchetong noticed that in addition to the Tesla Cybertruck, there are also many pure - electric pickup trucks in the US market, such as the Ford F - 150 Lightning and the Chevrolet Silverado EV. The entry - level versions of these two pure - electric pickup trucks all retain the core configurations of pickup trucks, such as the electric truck bed cover, dual motors, and the power interface in the truck bed. They only lower the purchase threshold by reducing the battery capacity and range.
Image source: Tesla official
Pickup trucks are different from mainstream passenger cars such as sedans and SUVs. The main reason consumers choose pickup trucks is still their practicality. Even for a pure - electric pickup truck like the Tesla Cybertruck with a unique appearance, this principle still applies.
Configuration is just one aspect. There are two reasons why the Tesla Cybertruck is "unpopular" after its launch: 1. The price exceeds the promise; 2. The rust spot problem on the body makes consumers question its quality.
As early as when the new car was first released in 2019, Musk said that the starting price of this car was $39,900, and the price of the high - end version would reach $77,000. Now, even the cheapest rear - wheel drive version is much higher than this price, not to mention the more expensive all - wheel drive version and the Cyberbeast.
Moreover, Tesla Cybertruck owners said that within a few days after picking up the car, rust spots appeared on the body after it got wet in the rain. Although the official said that this was just surface contamination and could be removed with a cleaner, rust spots are much more obvious than dust and naturally won't be accepted by all users.
According to information released by the analysis company S&P Global Mobility, in the first quarter of this year, 7,913 Ford F - 150 Lightning electric pickup trucks were sold, successfully surpassing the 7,126 units of the Tesla Cybertruck sold in the first quarter and becoming the best - selling electric pickup truck in the United States.
Undoubtedly, the Tesla Cybertruck is indeed a powerful and unique pure - electric pickup truck. Relying on just two high - end versions, it can still rank among the top in the sales list of the North American pure - electric pickup truck market, which is hard for traditional automakers to achieve. This at least shows that in the pure - electric field, Tesla still occupies a very high market position.
New - energy pickup trucks have not been accepted by the global market yet
As new - energy vehicles are gradually advancing, there are more and more new - energy pickup trucks. In addition to the Tesla Cybertruck, foreign companies such as General Motors and Ford, as well as domestic brands such as Changan and Geely, have successively launched new - energy pickup trucks.
However, pure - electric pickup trucks, or new - energy pickup trucks, still have a long way to go compared with traditional fuel - powered pickup trucks.
As a globally recognized pickup truck powerhouse, about 2.9 million pickup trucks were sold in the US market last year. Among them, the total sales of traditional fuel - powered pickup trucks such as the Ford F - Series, Chevrolet Silverado, Ram pickup, and GMC Sierra accounted for 70% of the entire US market.
In other words, the Ford F - 150 and Tesla Cybertruck, which sold less than 10,000 units in the first quarter, are doomed not to be the mainstream in the US pickup truck market.
Image source: BYD official
The same is true for the Chinese pickup truck market.
According to data released by the media "Pickup Truck Market", 17,991 new pickup trucks were sold in the pickup truck market in August, a year - on - year decline of 11.06%, hitting a new monthly sales low this year. Among them, the sales of new - energy pickup trucks in August were 1,718 units, a year - on - year increase of 102.12%, and the growth rate exceeded 100% again. However, the market base of new - energy pickup trucks is really too small, and the ratio of their sales to that of fuel - powered pickup trucks is still close to 1:10.
Whether in the US market or the Chinese market, the core positioning of pickup trucks is not essentially different. The usage scenarios of pickup trucks are mostly concentrated in off - road, cargo transportation, etc., which requires the vehicle to have strong power, excellent passability, and stable handling. Consumers choose pickup trucks essentially for their practicality.
Traditional fuel - powered pickup trucks are already technically very mature. While pure - electric pickup trucks may shine in scenarios such as light off - road and cargo transportation, when a pure - electric pickup truck goes off - road, range becomes a problem. It's hard to find a charging pile in the wild, and it's not practical for users to bring an extra power source by themselves. The cost of carrying a backup power source is much higher than carrying a bucket of gasoline.
However, from a development perspective, new - energy pickup trucks are still the future trend.
Image source: Shot by Dianchetong
The reason why new - energy vehicles can win over consumers may not be because of their advanced technology but because they are superior to fuel - powered vehicles of the same level in terms of car - maintenance costs and acceleration ability, which makes new - energy vehicles gradually become the mainstream in the automotive market.
The same is true for the new - energy pickup truck market. However, whether a new thing can become an industry trend depends on the choices of mainstream consumers.
With the support of the drive motor, the passability and fuel - saving ability of new - energy pickup trucks have improved. However, in the early stage of the development of new - energy pickup trucks, most models adopted the "converting fuel - powered vehicles to electric ones" method. The usage scenarios of pickup trucks are relatively harsh, and there are often needs such as carrying people and goods and driving on muddy roads, which have high requirements for energy consumption. New - energy pickup trucks are very suitable for users' usage needs.
However, there are really too many negative reviews of "converted" models, and consumers question the safety of these products. So the early development of new - energy pickup trucks has not been smooth, resulting in not many consumers recognizing the quality of new - energy pickup trucks.
Only when consumers recognize the quality of new - energy pickup trucks can this market welcome new development opportunities.
Dianchetong noticed that some new - energy pickup trucks have gradually emerged. The cumulative sales of the Geely Radar King Kong and the Changan Hunter this year have exceeded 3,000 units, and the Radar Horizon has contributed another 1,600 units. Changan Pickup has focused its strategic center on "digital intelligence" and "globalization", so it can gain a foothold in this "niche market".
Judging from the data, new - energy pickup trucks are still a "false proposition" in the domestic market, not to mention pure - electric pickup trucks mainly represented by the Tesla Cybertruck. Only when automakers continue to invest can they change consumers' stereotypes and break this situation, so that new - energy pickup trucks can truly stand out in the domestic market.
(Cover image source: Tesla official)
This article is from "Dianchetong" and is published by 36Kr with authorization.