Tesla Cybertruck Pickup Killer: GM CEO Teases Own Electric Truck, 'I'm Excited'

General Motors sees a big opportunity in the emerging electric pickup trucks.

According to a CNBC report, CEO Mary Barra commented excitedly about the new segment that is in limelight after Tesla’s splashy unveiling of its Cybertruck in November.

“That market can be very significant, and we’re excited in the not-too-distant-future to share what our entry will be,” Barra told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” program.

However, the GM boss ducked any direct mention of Tesla Cybertruck barring a statement that it is for the market to judge and added: “It is for the customers to decide, not General Motors, certainly not me as the CEO.”

At the same time, the CEO of GM hyped her company’s upcoming electric pickup: “I couldn’t be more excited about our battery-electric truck. It capitalizes on all of our knowledge of trucks. So I’m excited to get the reaction from that.”

Pickup trucks have emerged as one of the most profitable vehicle segments worldwide. In the American market, there is big competition among GM’s Chevrolet Silverado, Fiat Chrysler’s Ram and Ford’s F-150.

According to the latest news, Ford will join the electric pickups market with its electric F-series pickup in late 2021. Auto startup Rivian’s R1T electric pick up is also slated for production by the end of 2020. The project is backed by Amazon.

GM pact with LG Chem for E pickup launch in 2021

GM is expected to launch its electric pickup in 2021 and the batteries will come from a new partnership between GM and LG Chem announced Thursday. The JV will set up a big factory in Ohio.

The American auto giant and the top chemical company in South Korea said they would invest as much as $2.3 billion by 2023 to strengthen the equally-owned joint venture.

According to GM, early versions of the electric pickup will get batteries from a different LG plant until the Ohio facility is fully operational.

Cybertruck will boost Tesla stock

The boost for Tesla from Cybertruck was reinforced by Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas. He said on Thursday that Tesla share price will surge as much as $500 if the Cybertruck becomes a success as the Tesla Model 3 and achieve brisk sales in China.

The analyst’s reasoning is that share price will jump to $500 from $440 per share. According to Jonas, Tesla may sell 100,000 Cybertrucks by the end of 2024 at an average price of $50,000 with an Ebitda margin of 20 percent.

This is based on the projections of Tesla CEO Elon Musk that the truck currently has 250,000 pre-orders. Jonas assumes at least 40 percent of them would translate to an actual sale by 2024, reports Bloomberg.

In the China market, Morgan Stanley expects 200,000 Tesla units in incremental volume, with revenue of $40,000 per unit. However, Jonas did not deviate from his 12-month outlook on Tesla stock at a $250 price target, some 24 percent down from Tesla’s closing price on Thursday.

Meanwhile, reports said GM will lay off 814 workers from its plant on the border of Detroit and Hamtramck, starting Feb. 28. The plant is being retooled to start electric vehicle production in 2021. The automaker has issued layoffs notice on Thursday, per the filing with the state.

However, 753 of the affected UAW-backed employees will retain jobs if they relocate to other GM facilities, reported USA Today quoting GM spokesman Dan Flores.