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Tesla revealed its much-anticipated Cybertruck last night. To say the reveal was a fiasco would be an understatement. However, that will end up being just another odd footnote in the epic saga of Elon Musk and his Tesla journey. Like the pedophile-accusation incident. Or the on-camera weed smoking. Or the time Elon explained to an interviewer that Tesla had been just weeks from "death" after having told investors the opposite. The pain of the reveal fail will fade. What may be longer-lasting is the impact on Tesla's stock value.
Tesla recently gave its stock value a big shot in the arm following a profitable quarterly report. Following that report, Tesla's stock rose from $253 to $301. The stock continued to gain in value as investors looked forward to the new Model Y going on sale and the reveal of the Tesla all-electric Cybertruck.
Related Story: Watch Tesla's Cybertruck Reveal Fail Hilariously
Prior to its Cybertruck reveal fail, Tesla's stock had been valued at around $360 for the prior few business days. Following the reveal, and at the time of this story's publication, the stock had dropped to around $332. Tesla's stock price over the month looks great. A nice even rise, with a bit of a dip following the Cybertruck reveal. Over the past year, the value of Tesla's stock is essentially flat. The stock is down from its high of about $383, but many wise investors acquired stock at a price that puts them squarely in the profit category (should they opt to sell). Some others have not been so lucky.
Watch how Tesla Cybertruck sizes up with Model and a conventional pickup truck like the 2020 Ford F-150 and click to subscribe to Torque News for daily automotive news analysis.
Investors have thus expressed a negative view of the new Cybertruck with a clearly-linked stock value drop. For an opinion on the new Cybertruck's market success chances, we suggest that Tesla fans ignore the mainstream automotive press. We also suggest ignoring the electric vehicle advocacy press. What really matters is the opinion of truck buyers. We don't want to spoil the fun. Join a truck owner's forum for F-150, Silverado, or Ram and see how these owners/buyers are reacting to the new Tesla Cybertruck.
Tesla stock chart courtesy of Google and NASDAQ.
In addition to covering green vehicle topics, John Goreham covers safety, technology, and new vehicle news at Torque News. You can follow John on Twitter at @johngoreham.
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Comments
I don't think that there was
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I don't think that there was anything particularly wrong with the Cybertruck unveiling. It is just that Tesla's design choices are polarizing. Similarly, the Rivian's nose looks awkward to me. Tesla short sellers are itching to use any excuse to make a profit off of anything that they can twist into some notion of failure. I am sure that some TSLA stockholders wanted to see the Tesla truck released as a direct competitor to the popular and profitable F150 and Silverado pickup trucks, just in EV form. And those folks were disappointed to see the wild looking Cybertruck. Since very little about the Cybertruck (other than looking like it was out of Blade Runner) was known. As a truck, the Cybertruck seems to be pretty compelling fundamentally in terms of features, price, and capabilities. The styling is polarizing, but realistically Tesla's truck was clearly never aimed at the ordinary, mainstream buyers anyway. Like Rivian, Tesla only needs to pick up 2-3% of the truck market to be profitable, and I think that this truck is going to appeal to a great many buyers who want something completely different than the rest of the population.
I think my own hopes may have
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In reply to I don't think that there was by DeanMcManis (not verified)
I think my own hopes may have clouded my expectations. To me, a low-volume EV does nothing of any value. I was hoping this vehicle might take a meaningful number of gas and diesel trucks off the road. The writing was on the wall. Musk said, “It’s something I’ve been wanting to make for a long time. If there’s only a small number of people that like that truck, I guess we’ll make a more conventional truck in the future. But it’s the thing that I am personally most fired up about.”
I think that you might be
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In reply to I think my own hopes may have by John Goreham
I think that you might be surprised how many people will want an EV truck like this. Some because of the wild styling, and some in spite of the styling, but because of the features and capabilities. I think that it was a shock for most people to see this wild truck design, but for many people the styling will grow on them. I remember first seeing the Ferrari Enzo, and thinking that it was a fan joke drawing, but over time the styling grew on me and today I like it (even though many other Ferrari's styling still look better to me), but some cars like the BMW i3 had styling that never improved for me over time. So time will tell. Still, I think that it would be a good move for Tesla to also build a commuter mini-pickup with more traditional styling for the masses. It wouldn't have to be the heavy duty beast that the Cybertruck appears to be. Just a Model Y with a truck bed.
I've over-predicting Tesla
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In reply to I think that you might be by DeanMcManis (not verified)
I've over-predicting Tesla sales for the past year. Prior to that, I was spot-on. This one is very hard to gauge. I see the Rivian truck and think "Range Rover." I see Bollinger's truck and think "Jeep." The Model S was the easiest since it was a direct copy of an Aston Martin. All 3 very successful design languages in their own ways. This one, I am I having a harder time envisioning the owner's taste. If the owner profile and demographics of the Delorian buyers were available online I'd read that.
Yeah, it's anyone's guess if
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Yeah, it's anyone's guess if the Cybertruck's wild styling is a hit or a miss when it comes to actual buyers. But if the Delorean had been able to go 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, and run for 500 miles on one charge of electricity they would have been sold out from then until today. In it's day the Delorean was a cool looking car, and it only failed because the sports car market dried up, and the company lacked funding and imploded. Still, the EV world is changing fast now, and by the time that the CyberTruck is available to buy there will be other (more conventional looking) EV trucks on the market. I am guessing that between the novelty of the CyberTruck and it's price and capabilities, Tesla will be able to make a profit off it.