Tesla founder Elon Musk recently opened up on the company’s plans for its new pick-up, and gave a ballpark figure of what the bakkie should cost when released.
Speaking on the unofficial Tesla podcast, Ride the Lightning, Musk said that the bakkie will look like something out of science-fiction while still offering incredible functionality.
“We don’t want it to be really expensive. It’s got to start at less than $50,000 (±R728,000), and should cost less,” he said.
“There will be versions of the truck that will be more expensive, but you’ve got to be able to get a really great truck for $49,000 or less.
“It’s got to have incredible functionally from a load-carrying standpoint, and it has got to look amazing.”
However, Musk said that the Tesla Pick-up won’t look like a normal bakkie – which means that it won’t be for everyone, he said.
“If somebody just wants to have a truck that looks like trucks have looked like for the last 20, 30 and 40 years, it probably isn’t for them.”
He added that it’s going to be a truck that is ‘more capable than other trucks’.
“It will be a better truck than the (Ford) F-150 in terms of truck-like functionality and will be a better sports car than a standard (Porsche) 911 – that’s the aspiration,” he said.
“It’s going to be kind of like a Blade Runner truck.”
Musk has previously hinted in a series of tweets that the bakkie will be a 6-seater ‘big truck’, with an expected range of 400 to 500 miles (640 – 800 km).
The pick-up is also expected to feature titanium components and a dual motor all-wheel-drive powertrain with dynamic suspension.
While no full concept designs for the truck have been published, Musk did tweet a teaser image of the truck’s front concept design.
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