How Much Is a Cybertruck? Far More Than Originally Promised

• The base Tesla Cybertruck costs more than $60,000 and won't be here until 2025.
• In 2024, the AWD and Cyberbeast models will be delivered to customers.
• Musk made wild claims about the truck and its pricing, but the company has missed the mark.

Tesla recently announced pricing for the Cybertruck, and the much-awaited electric pickup starts at $61,240 before delivery, taxes and incentives. It is worth noting this is the starting price for the rear-wheel-drive single-motor model that won’t be available until 2025. The other two models, simply called All-Wheel Drive and Cyberbeast on Tesla’s website, are priced at $80,240 and $100,240, respectively.

Pricing has always been Tesla's strong suit. The company has recently shown that it is supremely flexible when it comes to the pricing of its core models, having cut the prices of many of its models earlier this year (by as much as $10,000). The Cybertruck, however, is a large departure from this almost fire sale-like mentality to pricing. The base model’s price is a hefty $20,990 off the brand’s original pricing estimates, and the dual-motor AWD model was originally supposed to cost $49,900 (it's now more than $30,000 more expensive). The tri-motor variant was supposed to come with a dual-layer battery pack, 500 miles of range, and cost just $69,900. At more than $100,000, the Cyberbeast has also missed its original pricing promise by more than $30K.

Musk also said the truck would have been buoyant enough to serve as a boat, have up to 500 miles of range, and more. Of course, a lot has happened since 2019. A world-altering pandemic, coupled with supply shortages and runaway inflation, has brought up prices on just about everything. But missing the original mark for the base model by more than $20,000 might have more than a few customers canceling their orders.

While the Cybertruck’s pricing may not undercut rivals, it is largely on par with pricing of competitors like the R1T. The R1T runs $74,800 MSRP, and the Cybertruck’s other competitor, the F-150 Lightning, starts at $51,990. Tesla says the deliveries of the all-wheel-drive Cybertruck and the Cybertruck’s Cyberbeast trim will start in 2024, excepting the dozen or so lucky customers who got to drive theirs off the factory floor during the livestream delivery event.

Edmunds says

Admittedly, Musk promised a delivery event and, well, delivered when customers were allowed to leave with their Cybertrucks during the livestream. However, pricing was off by a country mile versus the CEO’s 2019 claims, and the Cybertruck is no longer significantly less expensive than its key competitors.