Tesla plotting junior Cybertruck EV
CEO Elon Musk confirms "smaller" Tesla Cybertruck under consideration; would rival Toyota HiLux uteThe Tesla Cybertruck EV could get a little brother roughly the same size as the most popular utes in Australia, such as the Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Triton.
That's the word from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who used Twitter to let the world know his pick-up truck product portfolio is likely to expand.
After some back-and-forth over the dimensions of the Ford F-150-rivalling Tesla Cybertruck – a full-size dual-cab pick-up that was originally supposed to be smaller – Musk tweeted: "We'll probably do a smaller, tight-world truck at some point".
Tesla Cybertruck: Five cold hard facts
This is the first time the Tesla CEO has talked about developing a second electric ute and details around the 'smaller' Tesla Cybertruck ute are unknown. However, it's likely the new EV will compete against the likes of the Toyota HiLux/Tacoma, Nissan Navara/Frontier and Ford Ranger, which are categorised as mid-size light trucks in the USA.
Musk has notoriously poor spelling when he tweets and it's possible he meant a 'light-world' truck, not 'tight-world'.
Either way, a smaller ute would have more appeal in Australia than the larger Tesla Cybertruck, but it remains to be seen whether the battery-powered one-tonner will benefit from the Cybertruck's drawcard features.
These include armoured glass, 30x cold rolled stainless steel bulletproof metal body work, a top-spec tri-motor layout, 6350kg towing capacity and a claimed range of up to 800km.
The Tesla Cybertruck is scheduled to go on sale in the USA from late 2021, priced from around $US40,000 ($A60,000). It already has more than 250,000 pre-orders.
Tesla has not yet issued a release date for the twin-cab EV in Australia, which could be the world's third-largest market for the Cybertruck, after the USA and Canada.
History shows the Tesla Model 3 arrived in Australia three years after its US release, so Aussies could have a long wait for the Cybertruck -- let alone the Cybertruck Jr that may follow.
The Toyota HiLux will get a hybrid powertrain option by 2025 and there are several all-electric dual-cab utes on the horizon.
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