Tesla CEO Elon Musk took the Cybertruck out for a drive over the weekend, a welcome move for investors. | Credit: Frederic J. Brown/AFP
From the moment it was unveiled, Tesla’s Cybertruck was polarizing – it evoked either feelings of hate or love. But Tesla investors will surely love what transpired over the weekend after Elon Musk took the electric truck out for a drive.
If not for anything else, investors will surely salivate at the number of eyeballs that were likely converted into pre-orders as the Tesla CEO paraded the Cybertruck in the streets and social haunts.
Here are five reasons why Tesla investors will surely love the Musk’s stunt over the weekend:
Immediately after the unveiling of the Cybertruck, questions were raised over whether the electric truck was road legal . Some of the concerns included the fact that the truck lacked side mirrors.
Additionally, the Cybertruck had a single strip of lights at the front serving as headlights. In the various videos and images of the truck that Musk was seen driving, the headlights are now more regular.
As for the side mirrors, Tesla will probably wait for the U.S. government to approve the use of rear-looking cameras rather than adding mirrors. This prospect is already a high possibility. Earlier this year, U.S. road regulators started conducting tests on such mirror-replacing cameras . By the time the Cybertruck comes out for the general public, this could be a reality.
At its unveiling last month, doomsayers trashed the Cybertruck as just a concept car. But Musk taking the beast out for a drive over the weekend showed that this is no longer the case. Not only did the truck take to the roads, but its utility value was on display ferrying people comfortably in two rows.
With the stunt Elon Musk pulled over the weekend, the only bewildering and unfortunate thing is that the electric truck will only be released to the market in 2021. That’s too long a wait.
Tesla has long had a tradition of not spending any money on advertising its cars. The electric car maker has instead relied on making products that sell by word of mouth. This is unlikely to change with the Cybertruck.
From the attention it attracted on the streets and social media, this no-ad strategy is going to continue. This means that the money saved can continue to be passed onto consumers or plowed back into the company. An absolute win-win for investors!
On Musk’s night out over the weekend, the Tesla CEO made sure to park the electric beast in a strategic location where no one could fail to miss it. Despite being in a somewhat exclusive location, the electric vehicle did not fail to attract curious onlookers. The viral-ready polygonal design will no doubt continue to attract attention and pique interest. Consequently, pre-orders could continue to go up.
As of Nov. 27, Musk revealed that 250,000 pre-orders of the Cybertruck had been made. With a pre-order requiring a $100 deposit, that’s $25 million that Tesla now has in the bank.
Just like the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Elon Musk does “zero market research.” Instead, he relies on his gut instincts. The design and the utility value of the Cybertruck proves that for the umpteenth time he is right – consumers sometimes don’t know what they want until you give it to them. So far, the niche that Musk is targeting with the electric truck appears heavily wowed.