A few weeks ago, Elon Musk stated that the serial version of Tesla’s electric pickup, the Cybertruck, would be around 3% shorter than the original prototype. However, Musk himself has now stated on Twitter that he has finally ruled out such plans. Instead of shortening the Cybertruck Tesla, he could later launch a second smaller pickup focused on global markets.
Franz von Holzhausen (Tesla designer) and Musk himself were reviewing the Cybertruck’s design and concluded that they could not make the model smaller. “I reviewed [the design of the Cybertruck] with Franz last night. Even 3% smaller would be too small. It will be more or less this size [that of the prototype]”.
Therefore, the vehicle’s series version will measure about 5.89 meters long; that is, a length similar to that exhibited by the Ford F-150, the best-selling vehicle in the United States for years. Therefore, the Cybertruck will operate in the half-ton pickup category, the most popular in North America, rivaling the RAM 1500, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra 1500, Toyota Tundra, and Nissan Titan (in addition to the aforementioned Ford F-150).
Tesla’s initial goal was to offer a model with the capacity of a half-ton pickup and the container size of a small truck. This would allow users to park it in a conventional garage. Finally, these plans have had to be discarded and the model that will hit the North American market in late 2021 will be large.
However, the decision not to decrease the dimensions of the Cybertruck could lead to the launch of a smaller pickup. In Musk’s own words, “We’ll probably do a smaller, world-oriented pickup sometime.” However, the executive did not give more details about this project or an approximate timeline. Everything seems to indicate that it is still a few years before that model sees the light.
Possibly Tesla’s global pickup is placed in the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, and Nissan Navara/Frontier category. Small in size by American standards but much more popular in the rest of the world than its older “sisters”. To compete against this type of model, the small Tesla pickup will have to combine high autonomy and outstanding off-road performance with unmatched durability and reliability.