Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the long-awaited electric pickup truck, the newest addition to the Tesla car brand fleet, in a live demonstration, and things went left… in the tune of almost $770 million.
Musk said of the SUV, “You want a truck that’s really tough, not fake tough. You want a truck you can take a sledgehammer to, a truck that won’t scratch, doesn’t dent.” To prove his design, Musk directed a Tesla rep to take a sledgehammer to the Cybertruck’s door and resulted in no damage. However, when the rep threw a metal ball at its “armor-glass” windows, Musk replied, “Oh my f***ing God”, as the window shattered.
A second ball, thrown with less force, cracked a second window as well. “For a weird little reason, it broke now and I don’t know why,” Musk told the crowd at the unveiling “We’ll fix it in post.”
The demonstration smeared confidence in the Cybertruck, despite its radical design. Tesla’s share price dropped 6% since the market closed yesterday, diminishing Musk’s net worth by $768 million in a single day, to $23.6 billion.
Wall Street analyst Ben Kallo argued that the Cybertruck’s advanced features will win over customers despite its unusual design, and also dismissed the accident at the demo. “While this was unfortunate and provided some good meme fodder, ultimately we do not think the broken window is particularly significant and should not overshadow the rest of the unveiling,” he explained. “Ultimately we view this as a funny footnote.”
According to Forbes, 16 out of 35 Wall Street analysts advised for the stock to be sold after the disappointment at the demonstration.
