5 promises Elon Musk made about the Cybertruck that never happened
Elon Musk shows off a prototype Cybertruck in 2019. Frederic J. Brown/Getty
The Cybertruck has changed a lot since Elon Musk unveiled it in 2019.
It’s more expensive, with the cheapest version of the Cybertruck now selling for nearly $100,000.
Other features that didn’t make it into the final vehicle include crab walking and being able to float on water.
The Cybertruck has changed a lot since Elon Musk first unveiled it in 2019.
Tesla’s first pickup, which finally launched last November, has had a rocky rollout, with multiple recalls and challenges in scaling up production.
The Cybertrucks for sale right now have less range and a far higher price tag than Musk initially predicted, with the cheapest model currently available costing nearly $100,000.
Here are some of the Cybertruck features that Musk has promised over the years but which failed to materialize:
1. A $39,900 price tag
When Musk first unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019, he said the cheapest version would cost $39,900, with more advanced variants costing $49,900 and $69,900.
But that hasn’t quite worked out. In 2023, Tesla said its cheapest model would actually cost $60,990 and would arrive in 2025.
The price hike disappointed many Tesla fans, and has made the Cybertruck something of a status car.
This August, Tesla quietly hiked the price of the Cybertruck’s all-wheel-drive version to just under $100,000 and removed the option to pre-order its cheapest $61,000 rear-wheel version. It’s now unclear what its plans are for this model.
2. 500-mile range
Musk also said in 2019, the most advanced tri-motor version of the Cybertruck would have a 500-mile range.
That would have made it one of the longest-range EVs on the market, but again, it was a promise Tesla couldn’t deliver on.
The automaker advertises the $100,000 all-wheel drive Cybertruck as having an estimated 318 miles of range, with the $120,000 “Cyberbeast” clocking in at 301 miles.
Tesla said it plans to offer a “range extender” — a device that will sit in the truck bed of the vehicle, and which it says will increase the vehicle’s range to over 470 miles.
Production of the range extender is expected to begin in early 2025 and it will cost an extra $16,000.
3. Cyberquad
Musk ended the 2019 Cybertruck event with a surprise unveiling of the “Cyberquad,” a Tesla quad bike.
The billionaire wrote at the time on X that the Cyberquad would be a two-seater ATV that would be released at the same time as the truck.
Tesla did release a $1,900 kids version of the Cyberquad, which now costs $1,650 and previously faced a recall, but the full-size quad bike is yet to materialize.
4. Cybertruck as boat
The Cybertruck launched in 2023. Anadolu/Getty Images
One of the most eye-catching promises Musk made about the Cybertruck is that it would be able to float and serve as a boat for short periods.
The Tesla CEO wrote on X that the pickup would be waterproof enough to “cross rivers, lakes, & even seas that aren’t too choppy.”
Although the Cybertruck has a “wade mode” that allows drivers to drive through 30 inches of water for a limited time, it’s not quite sea-worthy enough to serve as a boat.
Musk hasn’t given up on this feature, however, posting on X last December that Tesla would release another upgrade that would allow the Cybertruck to “traverse at least 100m of water as a boat.”
5. Crab walking
In 2021, Musk wrote on X that the initial production run of Cybertrucks would have four motors, one for each wheel, allowing it to turn 360 degrees like a tank and move diagonally like a crab.
But this feature never made it off the Tesla drawing board. Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill said in April that Tesla experimented with the feature but couldn’t find a practical use for it.
“We played with this in development, but no matter what we tried, it was a clunky/awkward experience with no real use case,” he wrote in a post on X.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside normal working hours.
