{"id":121964,"date":"2017-12-27T08:12:27","date_gmt":"2017-12-27T13:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=121964"},"modified":"2017-12-27T08:12:27","modified_gmt":"2017-12-27T13:12:27","slug":"elon-musk-is-dying-to-build-a-pickup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2017\/12\/elon-musk-is-dying-to-build-a-pickup\/","title":{"rendered":"Elon Musk is \u201cDying to Build\u201d a Pickup"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
A rendering shows the Tesla pickup which bears a strong resemblance to the Tesla Semi.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the battery-carmaker is moving forward on plans to bring a pickup truck to market \u2013 though he said it will have to wait until the launch of a new compact electric SUV to be called the Model Y.<\/p>\n

Musk has been hinting about a pickup for some time, and said in a series of tweets that he is \u201cdying to build it.\u201d The basic design has been something the South African-born entrepreneur said he\u2019s been working on for almost five years.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Electrifying News!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A rendering of a possible pickup was revealed in mid-November during Tesla\u2019s preview of its planned Semi truck and Roadster models. When asked earlier this year how the Tesla pickup might compare with the Ford F-150 Musk said it would be of \u201csimilar total size.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Tesla owners among most satisfied, says Consumer Reports. <\/em>Click Here<\/span><\/a> for more on the new owners satisfaction study.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>Getting into the pickup segment could be an important move for Tesla considering the trucks account for anywhere from one in eight to one in seven new vehicles sold in the U.S. each year. And they are among the market\u2019s most profitable offerings, especially as conventional pickup producers, such as Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, continue to push more and more upmarket.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>But pickup buyers are also some of the most loyal in the U.S. and even after nearly two decades trying to crack the full-size market import brands Toyota and Nissan barely rank as asterisks on the sales charts.<\/p>\n

The question is whether there will be a market for a green pickup. Manufacturers are convinced there\u2019ll be a surge in demand for electrified sedans, coupes and SUVs over the next decade and will be flooding the market with new alternatives. Several are working up hybrid pickups, but Musk envisions an all-electric model expected to borrow at least some of its components from the new Tesla Semi.<\/p>\n

While there is a sizable market for \u201cpersonal use\u201d pickups, most buyers still demand significant towing and cargo capabilities, and range is another factor that Tesla would have to deliver on if it hopes to make any headway with the pickup it is developing.<\/p>\n

It will have a bit more time to work out the bugs, however. Before it reaches market, Musk noted, Tesla will launch a new SUV. And like the new Model 3 sedan, the Model Y ute is expected to target a relatively mainstream price segment, likely to start in the low to mid-$40,000 range, according to industry observers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Tesla showed off its electric Semi during a splashy, mid-November rally in California.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pricing on a battery pickup would likely be significantly higher, than Musk has so far given no indication what range Tesla is targeting.<\/p>\n

(Musk mucks up, sends his personal phone number to 17m Twitter followers. <\/em>Click Here<\/span><\/a> for more.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Musk\u2019s rush to reveal future Tesla products appears to be resonating with the brand\u2019s fans, as well as investors. While TSLA shares are well off from the 52-week high of $389.61, shares closed at $317.29 on Tuesday, up more than 50% from their low point over the last year.<\/p>\n

Not everyone is so upbeat, however. A number of analysts continue to voice concerns, especially in light of Tesla\u2019s ongoing struggles to build the new Model 3. A much slower than anticipated launch led to much higher than expected third-quarter losses and forecasts aren\u2019t much more upbeat for the October-December quarter.<\/p>\n

Production is still reported to be dragging at less than 10% of Tesla\u2019s original estimate, raising serious questions about whether it can come close to the 500,000 total production target it had set for 2018. Some reports have suggested that Chevrolet and Nissan are starting to receive orders for their own long-range models from customers who have decided not to wait any longer for the Model 3 sedans they had reserved.<\/p>\n

“There’s bound to be growing scepticism if waiting lists and waiting times grow longer while yet another new model is unveiled.” Paul Newton, an analyst at the IHS Automotive, told the BBC.<\/p>\n

Goldman Sachs is one of the bears on Tesla stock, critics fearing that if the carmaker can\u2019t get a grip on its Model 3 production problems it will soon run short on cash and have to go back to the market for a new equity infusion.<\/p>\n

(Is this the new Apple Car? Patent application hints at what may be in the works. <\/em>Click Here<\/span><\/a> for more.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the battery-carmaker is moving forward on plans to bring a pickup truck to market \u2013 but while he is “dying to build it,” Musk said it will have to wait for the launch of the Model Y electric SUV. More from TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121964"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121964"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=121964"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=121964"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=121964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}