But They’re Far from Over
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Not by a long shot.
It’s now a little more than three months since Tesla
unveiled its new pickup to a crowd of company fanboys. When the veil came off,
the jaws of the audience collectively hit the floor. Motoring enthusiasts were
looking at something that they had never seen before—except in the movies.
To say that the design is brave would be something of an understatement. The vehicle looks like it is lifted out of Cyberpunk 2020—a detail not lost on Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Its jagged, boxy lines are unlike anything the world has seen since the heyday of DeLorean, and even then, you’re struggling to find a genuine counterpart. Iconic brands will often rein in the edgier elements of their designs. Tesla has done no such thing. The Cybertruck is pure rebellion—and deliberately so.
Okay, Tesla: You won round one. No other company in the
world would have the audacity to release a vehicle even approaching the
craziness of the $40,000 Cybertruck. But that doesn’t
mean that others aren’t in the game.
A variety of companies, from Ford to General Motors, can
see the writing on the wall. The future is electric, and the pickup will be a
big part of it.
Musk’s decision to unveil the Tesla Cybertruck was a masterstroke. It did its job of keeping the world’s eyeballs glued on the activities of the Palo Alto-based automaker. But it also did something else-it trampled on the image of electric vehicles as somehow weaker than their gasoline counterparts. The Cybertruck looks like it could eat a Ford F-150 for breakfast.
The Response Comes Next
The big question going forward, of course, is whether any
other company will be able to challenge Tesla for the all-electric crown. As Rosenfeld car
accident attorneys point out, safety is a primary concern. There’s a reason
modern vehicles have the rounded, dodgem-car-shape that they do. It’s to
protect the occupants. The design of the Cybertruck is a striking departure
from that, suggesting that it might not offer the same crash protection as its
rivals.
With that said, there’s no reason so far to expect that the Tesla Cybertruck won’t be a hit. Tesla has dominated in all other segments that it has entered, dislodging the likes of Audi, BMW and Mercedes in an unprecedented market shift.
There’s also something wonderfully rebellious about the new design. Anyone who wants to laud it over other road users will have ample opportunity in the Cybertruck—more so than in any other pickup on the market. Other companies are going to struggle here—even Ford with Rivian’s help. They’re just too conservative. Musk and his team are not.
We don’t yet know the price points of upcoming electric vehicles from the mainstream automakers. You can probably predict how it will go, though. Traditional automakers won’t be able to outshine their all-electric rival, either in terms of looks, battery life or features. Thus, their only option will be to lower prices and let Tesla take its fat margins all the way to the bank.
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Source: Electric, Hybrid, Clean Diesel & High-MPG Vehicles
