Tesla Inc TSLA investor and Future Fund Managing Partner, Gary Black, remains optimistic about the demand for the Cybertruck, countering the skepticism from some market analysts.
What Happened: Black expressed his confidence, stating, “Consumer interest in Cybertruck is insane.”
He downplayed concerns about some customers canceling their reservation deposits, emphasizing that a significant number are still eager to expedite their deliveries.
According to Black, the Cybertruck is poised to have a positive “halo” effect on Tesla’s entire lineup, similar to the impact of the Model Y launch in 2020.
Black highlighted that the Model Y launch led to a substantial increase in volume growth from 36% in 2020 to 87% in 2021, resulting in a seven-fold surge in Tesla’s stock.
Despite initial concerns on Wall Street regarding the Cybertruck’s high pricing and fears of it becoming a niche product rather than a mass-market success, Black contends that a volume ramp-up and subsequent price cuts will prove these estimates wrong.
He believes that the Cybertruck’s potential to expand Tesla’s Total Addressable Market (TAM) to the pickup segment, constituting approximately 20% of US vehicles, is being underestimated.
Black also mentioned that, coupled with the forthcoming $25k Model 2, the Cybertruck positions Tesla as the only investable electric vehicle (EV) company.
Why It Matters: The Cybertruck’s pricing starts at $60,990, with its premium version, the Cyberbeast, beginning at $99,990.
However, challenges in scaling production, coupled with Tesla offering discounts to reservation holders for other vehicle purchases, have led to growing concerns among reservation holders about delayed Cybertruck deliveries.
During Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call in October, CEO Elon Musk revealed that over a million people had reserved the Cybertruck, highlighting unprecedented demand. However, Musk cautioned that achieving the targeted annual delivery of approximately 250,000 Cybertrucks might extend until 2025 due to production scaling challenges.
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