Aftermarket prices may soften even more as Tesla is now starting to bring the new $79,990 model to reservations. Not that there’s much need to place reservations—North American Tesla stores are now accepting pre-orders for Cybertrucks, which will be delivered two or three weeks later. “I call it: The real reservation list is done,” BayouCityBob said at a forum for Cybertruck owners last month. Tesla had said it banked more than $100 million in reservations ahead of the Cybertruck’s launch.
“I thought I had to wait a few times [years] before my time comes,” MC1987 replied to BayouCityBob, citing his invitation to buy his second Cybertruck (the poster had returned the first, a high-end Cyberbeast, due to alleged “build quality issues.”) “This is too dangerous,” they said.
Since many other parts of the world have not yet approved the sale of the Cybertruck, Tesla cannot increase sales outside of North America. UK car listing website Carwow describes the Cybertruck as a “rolling axehead”, a nod to the sharp van being too formal to meet Europe’s strict pedestrian safety regulations.
And Tesla can’t count on the American consumer’s love for pickups. “Something like 70 percent of all truck sales involve the sale of a truck,” Drury said. “It’s not like that [the Cybertruck],” he revealed, using Edmunds’ trading data.
“Although the Cybertruck hasn’t been on the market for long, it’s been around long enough for us to capture some that have been used. “Because there is no indication that Cybertrucks are being sold as trucks – which is something we often see in America – it is likely not a truck-like vehicle,” said Drury.
While the six Cybertruck recalls this year aren’t a surprise to “aggressive” buyers, the often-resulting bad news won’t impress Tesla shareholders—a higher-than-average recall could damage a larger product.
Any spike in general vehicle recalls should not worry consumers because defects vary widely in severity, and there are very few sales orders or demands to immediately stop driving any particular model. Automakers may hate to file them, but recalls show that the control system is working as designed.
However, as Musk advises the government-even if it is too far-some regulators may reduce their wings, perhaps reducing the number of recalled products, which may increase the risk to consumers. Not all Cybertruck owners will argue too much about that, though.
