A lot has been said and written about the polarizing design of the Tesla Cybertruck and frankly, there’s not much to add to that. Tesla’s first electric pickup has the sort of look that you either love or hate—there’s no room for middle ground.
With that in mind, the fact that two-thirds of people who took part in a recent survey said they would not buy a Tesla Cybertruck will probably not come as a surprise.
The survey conducted by Canaccord Genuity after pricing and specifications were revealed at the Tesla Cybertruck delivery event on November 30 saw 67% of respondents answering “no” when asked whether they would buy the Tesla Cybertruck. The remaining 33% of respondents answered “yes.” There was no “maybe” or “don’t know” option.
At first glance, the survey’s conclusion doesn’t seem to bode well for the Cybertruck, but some clarifications need to be made. First, the total number of respondents has not been disclosed, though Canaccord describes it as a “broad group.” Second, none of the people who took part in the survey were among the 2 million Cybertruck reservation holders.
Gallery: Tesla Cybertruck
The fact that the number of respondents was not made public does not help the credibility of this survey, as representative as the group might be for the overall population. In addition, Canaccord did not explain why it excluded Tesla Cybertruck reservation holders from the group of respondents; it might have done that to avoid bias but that’s just an assumption.
It’s worth noting that Canaccord is a global investment banking and financial services company specializing in wealth management and brokerage in capital markets. This could mean that the firm surveyed mostly business savvy, high net worth individuals.
Despite the much higher number of nays than yeas, Cannacord believes the results might be better than initially expected.
“We had an incredibly robust response to our survey. It was interesting to hear that two-thirds didn’t want it and, frankly, that was a lot better than we expected,” Canaccord analyst George Gianarikas told Yahoo Finance in an interview.
“Based on the discussions I’ve had individually, which have been in the hundreds, it’s the look of the vehicle that gets people excited or revolts people.”
Controversial looks aside, the Cybertruck’s higher than initially announced pricing was obviously another factor that influenced respondents when answering whether they would buy the electric truck or not.
When Tesla unveiled the original Cybertruck show truck in 2019, it said pricing would kick off at $39,900 for the base single-motor version, but four years later that price has ballooned 50% to $60,990.
“[The Cybertruck’s] not that cheap, right? The version that’s currently available is $100,000,” Gianarikas said. He did add that the “technology is going to get people excited” because Tesla’s pickup is different. “The same way the iPhone was different when it first came out, it’s got incredible stuff underneath the hood so to speak.”
The high level of tech, which includes an 800-volt traction battery that can charge at up to 250 kW, 48-volt electrical system enabling steer-by-wire for all four wheels, electronically adaptive air suspension, bi-directional charging capability, and an ultra-hard stainless-steel exoskeleton, could boost Tesla’s overall brand positioning in the market, according Gianarikas.
Now let’s start a survey of our own in the comments: would you buy a Tesla Cybertruck?
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