TOP-5 fantastic promises of Elon Musk about the Tesla Cybertruck, which he never fulfilled

In addition, the Cybertruck has changed a lot since Elon Musk first introduced it in 2019.

The pickup’s design—futuristic and daring—remains a key selling point. But for those who believed in the story about a truly revolutionary pick-up that will have not only a unique appearance, but also a unique functionality, the period of disappointment has come.

The first Tesla pickup finally launched last November. It went through a difficult path, which was accompanied by numerous reviews and problems with the scaling of production.

After the start of sales, buyers began to complain about various defects and problems. And despite fairly strong sales, many are calling the Cybertruck a disappointment.

Musk promised too much “goodies”. But expectations did not come true.

The Cybertrucks on sale now have less range and a much higher price tag than Musk originally envisioned.

Here are some of the Cybertruck features that Musk has promised for years, but that never materialized in Autoblog’s selection.

The price tag is $39,900

Elon Musk and Cybertruck – a saga of unfulfilled promises / Photo: ChinaImages/Depositphotos

When Musk unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019, he said the cheapest version would cost $39,900, with more advanced variants $49,900 and $69,900.

No matter what.

Cybertruck was quite delayed on the way to the consumer. And during this time, the price has increased significantly.

In 2023, before the launch, Tesla said that its cheapest model will cost $60,990.

The fans were furious. “Cybervanzhivka” lost its chances of becoming popular and immediately became something like a status car. It certainly pleased some of the audience, but many fans were furious.

And this year, Tesla suddenly removed the option to order the cheapest rear-wheel drive version. Now the Cybertruck can be ordered only in the all-wheel drive version with two motors for $99,990. What will happen with pricing next is not clear.

Range of 800 km

Musk also said that in 2019, the most advanced three-motor version of the Cybertruck will have a range of 800 km.

A more than impressive number. There were no models with such a range on the market at that time, and even after five years there were only a few of them, with a number of caveats (such mileage is achievable only in the urban cycle, etc. d.).

A version of the Cybertruck with such a range would make it one of the longest-range electric cars on the market.

But as in many other cases, Musk failed to fulfill his promise.

The mileage of the models that went on sale does not even reach 500 km.

To some extent, this fiasco is planned to be compensated with the help of an additional battery that can be placed in the trunk.

Tesla calls it a “range extender.” At a cost of $16,000, this gadget will enable the Cybertruck to drive another 300 km.

But even this option is still in the “wish list”, its implementation is planned for 2025. There are no guarantees that this will happen.

Quad bike Cyberquad

Haters of Elon Musk claim that he is often under the influence of some substances.

There is no evidence for this, and in general it is more like slander. But sometimes Musk does say strange things.

At the end of the Cybertruck 2019 event, he unexpectedly unveiled the Cyberquad, Tesla’s electric quad bike.

He mentioned him several more times in his posts on social networks. The billionaire assured that the Cyberquad is a two-seater electric quad bike that will be launched at the same time as the Cybertruck pickup.

As is often the case with Musk’s brainchild, the quad bike immediately had fans.

And as it often happens, Musk was slightly mistaken. Tesla has never released any quad bike to match the pickup truck.

Or rather, a compromise was found.

Tesla released a children’s version of the Cyberquad for $1,900. It was almost immediately subjected to a recall campaign due to technical problems. Now children’s ATVs have reappeared on the Tesla website at a price of $1,650.

The full-size ATV never appeared on sale. And Musk has not publicly mentioned him for a long time.

Floating Cybertruck

For many fans, it was Musk’s mention that the Cybertruck would be able to float and briefly function as a boat that was the deciding factor.

There is definitely no other such unique car on the market.

Musk’s post that the pickup will be waterproof enough to “to cross rivers, lakes and even not too stormy seas”, became a kind of classic.

Everything turned out in practice “something” different.

Cybertruck has a driving mode for crossing water obstacles. But the maximum depth is 750 mm, which, in principle, is at the level of many modern SUVs. And then, this mode can be used only for a short amount of time.

Cybertruck cannot swim. And how the boat cannot perform.

Musk refuses to give up. In late 2023, he wrote a post promising that the Cybertruck would soon be able to “to cross at least 100 meters of water as a boat.” But he did not specify when it will happen.

Crab mode

And Musk threatened that the electric pickup will have a mode known as “crab walk”. This allows the SUV to move sideways, which can sometimes be a lifesaver in difficult off-road situations.

With the advent of electric crossovers, the technical possibility to implement this function has become very attractive. After all, you can place one electric motor on each wheel.

In 2021, Musk assured that the Cybertruck will get four motors and a function “walk the crab.” Each wheel can rotate 360 ​​degrees.

The Cybertruck currently on sale has only two motors, regular wheels, and no indication of what ““crab mode” will be implemented in the foreseeable future.

Actually, Mask’s subordinates have already publicly said several times that ““crab mode” is a useless function that has no practical application.

Meanwhile, lately “crab mode” is presented in the new electric crossovers GMC Hammer EV and Mercedes G-class.