Tesla unveils first-ever electric pickup truck

Tesla Inc has unveiled its first-ever pickup truck, achieving another milestone in steps aimed at countering global warming.

“We need sustainable energy now. If we don’t have a pickup truck we can’t solve it,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk while unveiling the truck, also known as Cybertruck, at an event in Los Angeles, California.

The truck will come in three versions with 250 miles, 300 miles, and 500 miles of range, respectively. And it will start at $39,900, Musk said.

Although the production of the truck is expected to begin in late 2021 but preorders can be made at the company.

During the showcasing event, Musk put the truck through its paces in an effort to demonstrate its ruggedness. The chief of design of the company, Franz von Holzhausen hit the door of the truck with a sledgehammer several times to prove that it has a bullet-proof body.

However, things went wrong when a metal ball thrown by Holzhausen shattered both the truck’s windows. Musk controlled the things saying: “We’ll fix it in post.”

The one of its kind truck is available in three versions.

Single motor rear-wheel drive with 250 miles of range, 7,500-pound towing capacity, and 0-60 mph capabilities in under 6.5 seconds, for $39,900.

Dual motor all-wheel drive with 300 miles of range, 10,000-pound towing capacity, and 0-60 mph in under 4.5 seconds for $49,900.

Triple motor all-wheel drive with 500 miles of range, 14,000-pound towing capacity, and 0-60 mph in under 2.9 seconds for $69,900. (Though this version won’t start production until late 2022.)

The truck can seat a total of six adults, Tesla says. The body is made of ultra-hard 30X cold-rolled stainless steel.

The payload has a 3,500-pound capacity, with 100 cubic feet of storage space. The truck’s vault length is 6.5 feet, and it will have 4-inch suspension in either direction. A 17-inch touch-screen sits in the centre of the dashboard, though images of the interior look slightly unfinished.