Tesla CEO Elon Musk has unveiled his firm’s first electric pickup truck, known as Cybertruck, at an event in Los Angeles on Thursday.

The truck, which can seat six adults, will come in three versions with 250 miles, 300 miles, and 500 miles of range, says the company, and they will start at $39,900.

The truck will not be mass-produced until late 2021, but pre-orders can already be placed.

Tesla’s move into this sector puts the squeeze on market leaders Ford and General Motors, according to Citi analyst Itay Michaeli.

“Ford is more exposed to share-loss risk than GM, with materially higher EPS exposure,” he wrote in a note sent to clients on Thursday, adding that Ford is “more vulnerable to any resulting headline risks from the event.”

Tesla shares moved ahead following the announcement, while both Ford and GM went lower.

Mr Musk has made it clear he wants to “roll over” the industry leaders, hailing his truck as superior 

Tesla shares are up 5.8% this year while GM and Ford are higher by 5.5% and 14.1%, respectively. 

Ford has its electric F-150 on the way, General Motors confirmed it will put an electric pickup on the market in 2021, and startup Rivian is planning to launch its electric pickup next year.

The billionaire CEO has spent many years mooting the idea of a Tesla pickup truck. He tweeted in 2012 that he “would love to make a Tesla supertruck” with “crazy torque” and “dynamic air suspension.” 

By 2013, he told Business Insider that the company was actually planning to manufacture one.

 

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