What is the point of Elon Musk's Tesla Cybertruck?

Elon Musk's Tesla is ready to start the first round of deliveries of the brand new Cybertruck after four years of delays.

The Tesla truck, said to have "more utility than a truck and faster than a sports car" going from 0-69 in 2.6 seconds, was showcased at an event at the company’s factory in Austin, Texas.

At the event, Musk drove the Cybertruck onto the stage, where diehard fans erupted into cheers.

It marks the latest model in almost four years, with "space & comfort like a living room," including an 18.5” touchscreen in the front and a 9.4” touchscreen in the back. It also contains 15 speakers and a built-in hospital-grade HEPA filter.

But what's the point of the Cybertruck? For Musk, it's clearly about proving that electric cars can do more than just nip around city roads - they can go off-road too, and potentially become some of the sturdiest models available.

"It’s not just some grandstanding showpiece like me,” he said during launch, before speaking about the bulletproof and arrowproof doors and "armor glass" windows. Musk described it as “apocalypse technology", and it's no coincidence that the model has been the focus of much speculation in the prepper/survivalist community over the past few years either.

Musk also clearly believes Tesla has produced something which no other company could be capable of, calling the Cybertruck “the most unique thing on the road”.

Attention at the launch event soon turned to the machine's impressive features, with Musk sharing a clip of someone using a range of guns to fire away at it. The truck was left with nothing but bullet dents along the side exterior – but the interior remained untouched.

"In movies, you sometimes see the heroes or heroine hiding behind the car door while being shot with bullets. It doesn't actually work," Musk noted. "Unless, you're driving a Cybertruck."

He also referenced his $1 bet with Joe Rogan, in which he said an arrow wouldn't damage the new Tesla model.

That said, one awkward mishap from 2019 saw the tech mogul testing the Cybertruck's toughness by throwing a metal ball at the window to see if it impacted the glass.

Spoiler alert: It smashed... twice.

An initially confident Musk was left stunned, as he muttered: "Oh my f****** god. Well, maybe that was a little too hard."

Now, to poke fun at the blunder, Musk has released $55 window stickers called "Cybertruck OMFG decal" to give the appearance of smashed glass.

Speaking about the Cybertruck design, Musk said it was partially inspired by a car-turned-submarine in the 1977 James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me.

He then shown a clip of the truck towing a Porsche 911 and winning another in a race.

"Finally, the future will look like the future," he said.

While Musk did not announce the cost of the vehicles, prices were later shared on the Tesla website.

As expected, the truck comes at a hefty price tag with the rear-wheel variant starting at $60,990 (available in 2025), which is over 50 per cent of what Musk initially suggested back in 2019.

A later version of the truck, known as the Cyberbeast, will be available next year with an estimated starting cost of $80,000.

The all-wheel drive will also be available in 2024 at $80,000.

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.