Elon Musk launches new Tesla Cybertruck electric pickup truck starting at $39,900

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk-led Tesla has just announced the company's first pickup truck -- Cybertruck. Musk took a stage at an event in Losa Angeles, California to announce the Cybertruck in 3  variants: Single Motor Rear-Wheel Drive, Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive and Tri-Motor All-Wheel Drive.

Tesla's new addition to its electric vehicles is to start at a whopping $39,9000 (about Rs 29 lakh). However, it won't be hitting the roads until next to next year, probably late 2021. Any way, preorders can be placed on Tesla's website. Go check out tesla.com/cybertruck.

"Cybertruck is designed to have the utility of a truck and the performance of a sports car. The vehicle is built to be durable, versatile and capable, with exceptional performance both on-road and off-road," the company says.

Tesla launches Cybertruck in three versions

-- The base variant, as they call it, is single-motor rear-wheel-drive. With a towing capacity of 7,500-pounds, this one can reach 0 to 60 mph in less than 6.5 seconds with 250 miles of range. It comes at the price of $39,900.

-- Coming up next is the middle variant in the form of dual-motor all-wheel-drive with 300 miles of range and a towing capacity of 10,000-pound. It reaches 0 to 60 mph in less than 4.5 seconds. This one costs $49,900.

-- Last but not least, the most expensive versions -- tri-motor all-wheel-drive -- reaches 0 to 60 mph in less than 2.9 seconds, featuring a towing capacity of 14,000-pound. It costs $69,900. However, this variant won't go into productions until late 2022.

With the launch, Tesla is edging into the most profitable corner of the U.S. auto market, where buyers tend to have fierce brand loyalty.

Many pickup truck buyers stick with the same brand for life, choosing a truck based on what their mom or dad drove or what they decided was the toughest model, said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

“They’re very much creatures of habit,” Gordon said. Getting a loyal Ford F-150 buyer to consider switching to another brand such as a Chevy Silverado, “it’s like asking him to leave his family,” he said.

READ | Elon Musk says new Tesla auto factory will be set up in Berlin

Musk unveiled in the truck in a punk-show styled reveal event, showing off the truck’s stainless steel body and super-strong “armour glass” windows. A sledgehammer did not make a dent in the car’s doors.

But the event went slightly awry while testing the window’s strength. Metal balls hurled at the car cracked two windows — though the glass did not completely shatter into pieces.

“Well, maybe that was a little too hard,” Musk joked of the throw.

(With AP inputs)