Two days after its big (and slightly botched) unveiling, the Cybertruck is already racking up a lot of interest. Tesla has received 146,000 preorders for the polarizing electric pickup truck, Elon Musk tweeted on Saturday. And with customers dropping $100 refundable deposits for each preorder, that’s a cool $14.6 million for Tesla’s bank account.
Tesla is offering three versions of the truck: single motor rear-wheel drive with 250 miles of range for $39,900; dual motor all-wheel drive with 300 miles of range for $49,900; and tri motor all-wheel drive with 500 miles of range for $69,900. Musk said that 42 percent of preorders are dual motor, 41 percent tri motor, and 17 percent single motor.
146k Cybertruck orders so far, with 42% choosing dual, 41% tri & 17% single motor
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2019
“With no advertising & no paid endorsement,” Musk said in a follow up tweet.
Customers preordering the Cybertruck will have to wait a while before the boxy pickup pulls into their driveways, though. Production on the single and dual motor versions isn’t slated to begin until late 2021, while the tri motor truck won’t roll off the assembly line until late 2022.
Tesla uses preorders for its forthcoming vehicles to generate excitement and provide a short-term revenue infusion, which helps provide a cushion for the cash-strapped automaker. And Musk likes to tout preorder numbers to juice more sales. For example, the company received 276,000 preorders for the Model 3 a few days after its unveiling in 2016; a few days later that number grew to 325,000.
To be sure, Tesla doesn’t always release its preorder numbers. The company has yet to reveal how many customers have put down deposits for the Model Y, its electric crossover.
The Cybertruck is no Model 3 or Model Y, but the respectable number of preorders indicates that Tesla is still has its fingers on the pulse of what customers want to buy. That said, the Blade Runner-inspired design of the truck has been wildly polarizing to say the least.