[U-EV]Tesla Cybertruck失敗？Musk親自承認存在可能性

[U-EV]Tesla Cybertruck失敗？Musk親自承認存在可能性

Tesla 瞄準北美大宗重點貨卡市場所推出的 Cybertruck 似乎命運多舛，因為根據品牌執行長 Elon Musk 回應一則分享在推特平台上的公開專欄，這輛外觀極端前衛的純電貨卡，不僅可能無法按照預定時程推出，甚至有可能因銷售量不佳而成為一款失敗產品。假如這個情況真的發生，那麼在展演 Cybertruck 時用榔頭砸碎車窗的場景，尷尬程度與之相比也不過小事一樁。

Elon Musk 公開承認，尚未推出的 Cybertruck 純電貨卡也許會是款失敗產品。

Elon Musk 一直以來在推特上都十分活躍，尤其是在裁撤公關部門之後，幾乎所有與 Tesla 相關的消息，都得從推特上得知。大部分時候 Musk 都在替 Tesla 的成功宣傳，因此他公開承認 Cybertruck 有失敗的可能性，確實讓人有訝異。這個說法首先由 TheTruthAboutCars 張貼一則講述 Cybertruck 可能會是 Tesla 首款開發失敗的產品。作者 Tim Healey 甚至更進一步預測，即便推出後 Cybertruck 銷售表現也將遠不如預期，導致其他車廠會以較保守的方式開發純電貨卡新車。

Musk 認為 Cybertruck 太過前衛，並非所有人都能接受。

Tesla 支持者在看到相關文章的時候，經常會標記 Musk，絕大多數情況下都不會獲得回應。但這次不一樣，Musk 不但出面回覆，甚至沒有對該則專欄多加批評，而是承認 Cybertruck 有可能無法在市場上獲得成功。只是對此他似乎並沒有太放在心上：「Cybertruck 由於太過獨特，本來就有失敗的可能。但我不在乎，即便其他人不喜歡，但我還是很愛這輛好像未來外星人製造的電動車。」

廣 告

對於具備一定規模的車廠來說，對於開發新車遭遇市場銷售滑鐵盧早就習以為常，即便在開發與上市前做足功課還有調查，但消費者偏好變化快速難以預料。只要在市場上打滾，遲早都會跌上一跤。

雖然 Elon Musk 自己都承認 Cybertruck 存在失敗可能性，但事實上目前 Tesla 所接獲的預定數量已經超過 100 萬輛。當然這些預定不會全數轉成訂單，但就算僅有 10%，這也意味著 Cybertruck 首年就能有 10 萬輛新車上路。在產品沒有大問題的狀況下，應該也很難遭遇嚴重失敗。

Musk Provides Tesla (TSLA) Cybertruck Design Updates

Tesla, Inc.’s (TSLA) colorful CEO Elon Musk has provided updates on the company’s Cybertruck, launched with a splash in 2019, and suggested that it could end up becoming a flop in the market.

On Twitter, Musk’s favorite social media platform, the CEO wrote that the car’s doors would not have handles. Instead, it would simply recognize the owner and open the door. He also said that the Tesla team was planning to retain the same design as the one that was displayed during its 2019 launch. “Just some small tweaks here & there to make it slightly better,” he wrote.

When it was launched, the truck’s unconventional trapezoidal design and yoke, instead of a steering wheel, drew puzzled responses from analysts and Tesla watchers. Toni Sacconaghi, senior technology research analyst at Bernstein, wrote that the cybertruck was “weird … like, really weird.”

Key Takeaways Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the company’s Cybertruck might turn out to be a failure because of its futuristic design.

The all-electric pickup truck was launched with great publicity back in November 2019.

It will have to contend with a market that is fast becoming crowded with startups and established car makers.

But the launch event’s highlight was the shattering of a demo Cybertruck’s glass windows by Tesla design leader Franz von Halzhausen with a metal ball. Musk had said the glass windows could withstand bullets from a 9mm handgun.

As with most Tesla products, however, the public lapped up the truck and immediately submitted the $100 pre-order amounts. Musk, not one to shy away from free publicity, touted the numbers at public events and on Twitter.

But his mood on Thursday was more cautious. He said there is a chance that the all-electric truck may not succeed “because it is so unlike anything else.” He wrote, “Other trucks look like copies of the same thing, but Cybertruck looks like it was made by aliens from the future." With a starting price of $39,900 for a rear-wheel drive (RWD) model, the truck is slated to start production later this year.

A Market Dominated by Established Car Makers

According to sales data from Motor Intelligence, pickup trucks constituted 20.1% of total sales of new cars last year. The market for pickup trucks is dominated by established car makers. With a 36.1% share of the overall market, General Motors Company (GM) led the market, and Ford Motor Company (F) was second with a 33.8% market share.

Even as Tesla is gearing up to manufacture its truck, Ford has already raced past it to launch all-electric versions of its pickups. It released an all-electric version of the F-150, its best-selling gasoline-powered truck, earlier this year. General Motors also entered the market with its GMC Hummer EV, slated for delivery in 2023. While it does not feature the unconventional design of Tesla’s vehicle, Ford’s all-electric truck has been well-received by the market. A startup, Rivian, has also entered the all-electric pickup truck fray with the R1T, which delivers a range comparable to Tesla’s Cybertruck and also qualifies for a federal tax credit.

Given Tesla’s previous problems with releasing products on time and increased competition, the success of its electric truck is far from given. But that is not a source of worry for Musk. “I don’t care,” he wrote on Twitter, referring to a prospect of a failure for the electric truck. “I love it so much even if others don’t.”

Elon Musk’s SolarCity trial shows the method in his madness

But to return to the metaphor of Daedalus and Icarus, there was one key point that Musk seemed to overlook. Daedalus may have survived the flight — escaping from a labyrinth of his own making, by the way. But Icarus’s death was on his hands, and it haunted him. Elon Musk has made it this far, flying as close to the sun as any figure in the modern business world. Not every Tesla autopilot driver has been so lucky. And as more and more people rely on his companies’ technology, his brash approach raises justifiable concerns about whether he gives safety its due priority.