Elon Musk Says Tesla Cybertruck Could Flop—But He Doesn’t Care

Visitors wearing face coverings view the Telsa Cybertruck at the recently reopened Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California, July 1, 2020. ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

It’s been almost two years since Elon Musk proudly introduced Tesla’s Cybertruck to the world. The eccentric-looking all-electric pickup has still yet to begin delivery. And the Tesla CEO is increasingly unsure about its fate in the market.

“To be frank, there is always some chance that Cybertruck will flop, because it is so unlike anything else,” Musk tweeted Thursday in response to an article titled “Tesla’s Cybertruck Will Be Company’s First Flop” shared by Tesla fan account “Tesla Owners Online.”

But he couldn’t care less. “I don’t care. I love it so much even if others don’t,” Musk wrote in the same tweet. “Other trucks look like copies of the same thing, but Cybertruck looks like it was made by aliens from the future.”

To be frank, there is always some chance that Cybertruck will flop, because it is so unlike anything else.

I don’t care. I love it so much even if others don’t.

Other trucks look like copies of the same thing, but Cybertruck looks like it was made by aliens from the future.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2021

Since its dramatic debut in late 2019, the Cybertruck has struggled to get positive reviews from consumers and professional critics alike. Most Americans think it’s ugly. Automobile designers have mocked it for being too “cold and isolated like a Mars rover.”

“Over the generations of this vehicle’s evolution…the pursuit is going to be of something more reminiscent of the natural world,” the renowned car designer Frank Stephenson said of Cybertruck in a review last year. “If technological progress does not march into the future hand in hand with nature, then it is no progress at all.”

With a starting price tag of $39,900, Cybertruck is clearly aiming for the mass market. Last August, Musk told the press that he would be okay with making a “normal truck” if the original version of Cybertruck didn’t sell.

But the latest update is that the production version won’t be much different than the original design. “In the end, we kept production design almost exactly same as show car,” Musk tweeted Thursday. “Just some small tweaks here and there to make it slightly better.”

In end, we kept production design almost exactly same as show car. Just some small tweaks here & there to make it slightly better.

No door handles. Car recognizes you & opens door.

Having all four wheels steer is amazing for nimble handling & tight turns!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2021

In January, Musk told Tesla investors during an earnings call that Cybertruck would begin volume production in 2022 and hopefully start delivery the same year.