Elon Musk Reveals Tesla Pickup Truck's Price: ‘Well Under $50,000’

Tesla Inc. is still playing catch-up to startup Rivian LLC, which plans to market the first electric pickup -- the R1T -- in the U.S. in the fall of 2020, and might introduce its own electric SUV (the R1S) in the same year, as well.

In August 2018, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said an electric pickup is "probably my personal favorite for the next product" for Tesla. He also said a Tesla electric pickup will happen "right after" the Tesla Model Y, which Tesla will start producing in 2020. This means we’ll see Tesla’s first electric pickup roll off the production line after 2020.

To stoke market interest in his planned electric pickup while Rivian’s R1T is already making its appearance in showrooms, Musk at a recent podcast proclaimed a cheap $49,000 price tag for his future pickup.

That sounds like a great deal given Rivian’s announcement last April that the luxury adventure R1T will have a base price of $69,000, while the R1S will sport a base price of $72,500. Musk, however is notorious for overpromising and his $49,000 might be more on the “aspirational” side, some said.

During ther podcast, Musk said his Tesla pickup truck will carry a starting price of $49,000 at most. As far as pricing goes, his aim will be to offer the vehicle at “well under” $50,000.

“You should be able to buy a really great truck for $49k or less,” said Musk.

Analysts noted the under $50,000 price tag for the future Tesla pickup probably means this electric vehicle (EV) won’t be a luxury adventure EV in the same class as the R1T, but will belong to the less than luxurious standard pickup class.

It also means Tesla is targeting another, less than wealthy, demographic with its electric truck.

Musk previously revealed Tesla’s goal for its still unnamed pickup is to make it better than a Ford F-150 in terms of functionality. Tesla’s pickup will also be better than a Porsche 911 high-performance sports car in terms of sports car attributes.

“It’s going to be a truck that’s more capable than other trucks,” bragged Musk.

Musk has also said his Tesla pickup won’t be out of place on the set of a "Blade Runner" movie, the second iteration of which ("Blade Runner 2049" starring Ryan Gosling released in 2017) features flying cars soaring above Los Angeles.

Musk also boasts his pickup will be packed to the gills with tech. Here’s some of what Musk has revealed thus far about his future pickup: this machine will have six seats, a range of 400 to 500 miles per charge, a dual motor AWD, a 240 volt connection for heavy-duty tools, and a towing capacity of up to 300,000 pounds.