During their launch, Elon Musk shared a video of a Tesla Cybertruck pulling a Ford F-150 uphill showing apparent domination of tow strength.
Cybertruck pulls F-150 uphill pic.twitter.com/OfaqUkrDI3
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2019
However, controversy soon followed when many including renowned scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson pointed out the test was not exactly “fair.”
DeGrasse Tyson tweeted:
A badass @Tesla looking like it’s doing a badass thing. But if the @Ford F-150 is RWD **with no payload** then weight on the Rear Axle is greatly reduced, offering only mild traction for the Tesla to overcome. This contest is more about the Physics of Friction than Engine Power.
A badass @Tesla looking like it’s doing a badass thing. But if the @Ford F-150 is RWD **with no payload** then weight on the Rear Axle is greatly reduced, offering only mild traction for the Tesla to overcome. This contest is more about the Physics of Friction than Engine Power.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 25, 2019
This led to Ford VP Sunny Madra calling out Elon Musk to send them a Cybertruck so they could do a fair “apples to apples test.”
https://twitter.com/sundeep/status/1198988235252199424
Not shying away, Musk replied “Bring it on.”
Bring it on https://t.co/pCnln1NdRO
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2019
WATCH:
Within a day of launch, Musk boasted that 146k Cybertrucks have already been pre-ordered.
He then updated this to 200k a single day later.
146k Cybertruck orders so far, with 42% choosing dual, 41% tri & 17% single motor
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2019
200k
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2019
Per CNBC, what Musk calls an order isn’t actually an order, but rather just a pre-order. At $100, the Cybertruck pre-order demands an even smaller commitment than what’s been required for other Tesla vehicles. Fans had to put down $1,000 for the Model 3 in March 2016, and for the Model Y, they currently have to pay $2,500.
Musk’s tweets appeared to juice the stock price early on Monday, lifting it as much as 3.4% from Friday. But the rally didn’t last, and the stock closed up 1% at $336.34, trailing the broader gains in the S&P 500 tech index.
In the fine print on Tesla’s “Design Your Cybertruck” webpage, below a “Place Order” button, Tesla notes, “By clicking ‘Place Order’ I agree to the Cybertruck Pre-Order Agreement.” The company explains that the Cybertruck pre-order payment just covers processing costs and is not considered a deposit for the vehicle.
This article first appeared on TheConservativeOpinion.com
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