Elon Musk add big and bold claims to Tesla upcoming pickup

KUALA LUMPUR: Elon Musk is known for making memorable comments, be it about new tech or car. This time, the billionaire spoke about Tesla’s upcoming pickup over an hourlong podcast that was hosted by Ryan McCaffery, who himself is an owner of a Model 3. Over the said podcast, Musk talked about the upcoming pickup’s price, capability, and how it is even better than a sports car than the 911. Topics like Tesla’s move forward towards fully autonomous driving and Musk’s desire to built Model Y were also touched.

Musk said, “It’s going to look pretty sci-fi. That means it’s not going to be for everyone. It’s going to be on a truck that’s more capable than other trucks. The goal is to be a better truck than an F-150 in terms of truck-like functionality, and be a better sports car than a standard [Porsche> 911.”

Yes, you read it right. According to Musk, this full-electric truck would be even better than the standard Porsche 911. The South African automaker further said, “It’s kind of like a ‘Blade Runner’ truck. That’s the idea. It’s not going to be for everyone. When we unveil this thing, there’ll be some people who are like, ‘Oh, that doesn’t look like a truck; I don’t want to buy it.’ It’s like when they came out with automobiles, people were like, ‘Oh, I like a horse and carriage.’ Sure, OK, you can stick with your horse and carriage, but you’re going to get an automobile later. You just don’t know it.”

On Twitter, Musk gave out a few technical details about the pickup. He said that it would feature a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system that would be offered as a standard fitment. Also, the suspension on it would adjust automatically according to the load, and even a ‘crazy torque’ is on the list as well. Further, included in the Tesla pickup truck specs sheet are power outlets for heavy-duty, 240-volt power tools. It would showcase a driving range of 850 km or even more and a 136,078 kg of towing capacity.

The Tesla pickup truck would carry a starting price tag of around US$50,000 that’s roughly RM 208k.