Tesla Pickup Surprise Rival: Electric Hummer To Challenge Elon Musk Vehicle?

General Motors Co. plans to build a new family of premium electric pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant beginning in late 2021. This is according to LMC Automotive, an auto industry forecast company.

Jeff Schuster, an industry analyst with LMC Automotive, told The Detroit News that GM will build a Hummer pickup truck and SUV in late 2021. It was also revealed during negotiations with the United Auto Workers that the plant would be revived to build electric trucks and vans.

Per a Forbes report, the automaker would invest $3 billion to prepare the plant for electric-vehicle production, and the so-called BT1 electric truck/SUV program will be the centerpiece. GM's BT1 program includes an electric pickup for the GMC brand and an electric SUV for Cadillac.

Automotive News first reported that Detroit-Hamtramck is expected to build an electric Escalade and Sierra on Thursday. Reuters reported on October 18 that the plant would revive the Hummer, which was discontinued in 2010 following the 2009 bankruptcy and a failed sale of the brand. Detroit-Hamtramck currently builds the Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac CT6. Production was speculated to end by February.

According to sources, GM plans to begin low-volume production in late 2021 of the first BT1 model, a pickup, under a different brand. One of the sources said the Hummer name is "under consideration" and not yet finalized. The pickup is codenamed "Project O."

“Putting a Hummer badge on anything is a great idea for General Motors because half the marketing is already paid for,” Sam Fiorani, Auto Forecast Solutions vice president of global vehicle forecasting, said.

GM spokeswoman Jordana Strosberg said, "GM believes in an all-electric future and we are making great progress in that area... We have announced that a pickup truck will be part of our future portfolio, but have no additional information to provide."

Specifications of the upcoming pickup truck are yet to be unveiled. In terms of pricing, Fiorani expects the GM electric truck to sell at around $90,000 or more.

Could GM's newly anticipated electric truck by Tesla's surprise rival? Bold Hummer EV design could put up a good fight.

‘Rivian R1T pickup’ is also set to begin in late 2020. Ford also anticipated debuting its all-electric F150 soon.

Meanwhile, the prototype of Elon Musk and Tesla's CYBRTRK is up for its final reveal on November 21. It will start at 8 p.m. PST on Thursday, Nov. 21 at the company's Design Center in Hawthorne, California. According to the invitation, the event "will be held both indoors and outdoors."