Tug-of-war: A still from the video clip Tesla chief executive Elon Musk posted on Tuesday
Tesla and Ford were in a virtual stare-down on Tuesday in the macho truck world, each claiming their electric pick-up was strongest.
Duelling tough talk was exchanged on Twitter after Tesla chief executive Elon Musk posted a video of a freshly unveiled “Cybertruck” trouncing a Ford F-150 in a tug-of-war. The video logged nearly 13-million views on Twitter, and was retweeted more than 110 000 times on Tuesday alone.
In the clip, a wedge-shaped Cybertruck drags an F-150 uphill, with smoke coming from the Ford’s rear wheels as it tries to go downhill.
“Better than a Ford F-150, faster than a Porsche 911,” Musk claimed in an earlier tweet.
Ford Motor Company vice-president Sunny Madra issued a challenge to Musk in response. “Hey @Elon, send us a Cybertruck and we will do the apples to apples test for you,” Madra tweeted. “Bring it on,” Musk fired back.
Musk’s boasts ignited online debate, with Ford defenders arguing the F-150 was at a disadvantage for reasons that included lacking a load to enhance rear-wheel drive traction and that the Cybertruck may have had a head start.
Tesla’s new electric pickup truck has secured almost 150 000 orders, Musk said on Twitter just two days after its big reveal went embarrassingly wrong. The billionaire Tesla co-founder floundered on stage in California last week when the vehicle’s armoured glass windows cracked in a demonstration intended to prove their indestructible design.
The industrial-looking Cybertruck is covered in the same steel alloy Musk plans to use for his SpaceX Starship rocket and will be able to go from 0-100km in about three seconds.
Musk said the entry-level model will have a starting price of $39 900 and a 400km range. A deluxe option will be able to travel twice the distance and will cost $69 900.
No date has been given for its release, but analysts said it would not be ready before the end of 2021, at the earliest. — AFP