Transportation

Bring on the Apocalypse: Cybertruck Is Ready

Tesla's Elon Musk shatters expectations (and glass) with a bulletproof electric pickup that looks like it expects you to shoot at it. Maybe you will.
Please do not anger Cybertruck.Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP

Elon Musk is having a complicated week. On Wednesday, a prototype of the Starship rocket—designed by his company SpaceX to eventually fly humans to the Moon and Mars—suffered a large explosion while it was being loaded with super-cooled fuel in Texas. And on Thursday evening, his other company, the maker of stylish electric vehicles Tesla, ran into a roadblock at another high-stakes launch.

Musk was onstage with Tesla’s lead designer, Franz von Holzhausen, for the debut of their newest model. Dubbed Cybertruck, the electric pickup, which will not begin production until late 2021, boasts a host of eye-popping specifications: The most expensive version should have a maximum range of 500 miles between charges, the ability to tow 14,000 pounds, and a 0-to-60 time of under 3 seconds. Musk also promised that the truck had unprecedented invulnerability. “You want a truck that’s really tough, not fake tough,” he told his audience.