Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) began producing the Cybertruck in its Austin factory. It was first unveiled in 2019. The company’s original, and clearly overly optimistic, release date for the Cybertruck was 2021.
Tesla claims the Cybertruck offers the performance of a sports car and the utility of a pickup. The body is made of flat metal panels, meaning it has no curves.
TSLA stock rose 2% over the weekend. It opened this morning at $287 per share, a market capitalization of over $900 billion. TSLA stock is up 3% in early morning trading.
Tesla’s Big Test
Tesla announced its Texas Gigafactory a year after the Cybertruck announcement. The factory was recently making 5,000 vehicles per week, according to the company.
The Cybertruck is the fifth vehicle Tesla has produced. CEO Elon Musk estimates demand at between 250,000 to 500,000 vehicles per year. Physical deliveries of the vehicle, and their appearance on Texas roads, should happen later this quarter.
While Tesla was teasing its truck, however, General Motors (NYSE:GM), Ford Motor (NYSE:F) and Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) have all begun delivering electric pickups with conventional curved designs. Over 1.4 million pickups have been sold in the U.S. so far in 2023, most powered by gasoline. The most popular models come from GM, Ford, and Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM).
If Tesla were to make its planned 500,000 trucks, and if they were all sold in the U.S., it would hold one-sixth of the U.S. market. Ford recently cut the price of its electric Lightning pickup by 17%. Ford Lightning prices now start at $50,000. The single-motor Cybertruck is expected to be priced at $40,000-60,000.
TSLA Stock: What Happens Next?
Tesla now has almost three times the market cap of all its EV pickup rivals put together. It’s under pressure to scale the Cybertruck’s production, earn a profit on it, and crush the competition.
All that, and more, is now priced into TSLA stock.
As of this writing, Dana Blankenhorn did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
