Elon Musk sent the Tesla community into a frenzy with his cryptic teaser of Tesla’s upcoming pickup truck. Here’s how people have been trying to understand the teaser image: Yesterday, Musk released the first teaser image of Tesla’s electric pickup truck, which he describes as a ‘cyberpunk’ truck and inspired by Blade Runner. The image was displayed on a screen for a few seconds after the Model Y launch but apparently, everyone missed it so he decided to release it on Twitter. It is difficult to understand what part of the ‘Tesla cyberpunk truck’ we are looking at in the teaser: A bunch of Tesla detectives set out to try to decode the image and better understand what we are looking at exactly. Shawn Sparling tried to build a rough 3D model based on his interpretation of the image being the hood of the Tesla Pickup truck and he sent Electrek a few shots: The part in the teaser image appears to be long for a hood, but it could make sense to have a long hood with a large ‘frunk’ for enclosed cargo space. Others are looking at it differently and used a previous image of a Tesla Semi-based pickup truck that Musk released two years ago. They think that the teaser could be at a misleading angle and it could be the front end of that truck (via u/LukeTospace on Reddit): While the original image was officially released by Tesla, it was never clear if a Tesla Semi-based pickup truck would be something that would actually ever come to production. Here’s another more approach to interpreting the teaser with a more conventional design (via u/TheAmazingAaron on Reddit): It’s an interesting approach, but it’s not my personal favorite. Here’s one that is more of an out-of-the-box interpretation of the teaser image, but it’s actually my favorite so far (via waytomuchsparetime on Reddit): The Redditor believes that it would be a more aerodynamic approach to a pickup truck and it would fit with Musk’s mention of a ‘cyberpunk’ look. Which one is your favorite? Do you have your own interpretation of the Tesla truck teaser? Let us know in the comment section below. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More. Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.<doc-sep>By Elon Musk revealed a glimpse of Tesla’s “Cyberpunk” Pickup Truck the night he unveiled the Model Y. But there was a slight problem. No one noticed. So he dish ed out the spoiler. As Musk pointed out through a series of tweets, there was, in fact, a “something else” that evening when he took to the stage to highlight the evolution of Tesla. Many believed it to be his Tesla-branded custom Nike sneakers, while the vast majority of the community had previously hoped for a surprise announcement on a Model S & Model X refresh or a Tesla Pickup Truck. Musk delivered on that hope. There was something, but no one caught it — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2019 When the webcast for Tesla’s new 7-seater compact SUV ended on Thursday night, the soundtrack for science fiction classic, Blade Runner, served as a prelude to a teaser image of Tesla’s all-electric pickup truck. “About a minute in, we flashed a teaser pic of Tesla cyberpunk truck,” notes Musk over Twitter. Musk didn’t go into any other details about the pickup but based on remarks he’s made in the past, and a previous sketch of Tesla’s Truck, the new teaser image appears to be a wraparound tail light on the liftgate to the truck bed. Tesla’s pickup truck is a project that Musk has been wanting to pursue since 2012. He revealed in late 2017 that the company already had the core design and engineering elements for the truck and that it would be built after Model Y. Over time, Musk continued to drop hints, calling it a “futuristic like cyberpunk, Blade Runner pickup truck” that will be unlike anything in the market. “(As for the) Tesla pickup truck, we might be ready to unveil that this summer. It will be quite unique,” Musk asserted during the company’s Q4 2018 earnings call. Tapping into the lucrative pickup truck market comes at a good time for Tesla, especially as legacy manufacturers begin to lay the foundation for electrifying their existing fleets. Competition is also beginning to heat up in the unchartered electric truck segment, most notably being spearheaded by Michigan-based Rivian. Elon Musk teased an image of Tesla’s Pickup Truck but no one noticed<doc-sep>Shortly after Elon Musk announced the long-awaited Model Y compact SUV at the Tesla Design Studio on March 14, attendees and viewers were also treated to an early glimpse of the Tesla Pickup Truck… sort of. The image, which Musk re-shared over the weekend, appears to depict little more than a black box, lights and a Tesla logo — even after brightening (the reference might actually be deliberate, ‘black box’ refers to a coding module which a user can still operate using input variables without understanding anything else about how it works). Attendees and stream viewers mostly missed the reference, which perhaps explains why Musk decided to re-share the overlooked picture the next day. Musk described it as Tesla’s “cyberpunk truck” in the tweet, but as you can see more easily in the slightly altered version of the image below — which has been brightened using Photoshop — the alleged product could easily be mistaken for a mysterious image of a new gaming console, say, or a shadowy picture of an Amazon Echo. In other words, it’s a teaser image that leaves onlookers largely in the dark about the vehicle, though some rumors indicate the pickup could be formally unveiled as early as the summer. Computer, enhance...Wait what is that thing? Elon Musk Elon Musk’s Pickup Truck Tease: What Could It Be? At first glance, the picture looks like it depicts the cargo bed of the unreleased truck. But when Inverse raised the brightness of the render using Photoshop, it actually made image more perplexing. If it was indeed the Tesla Pickup’s cargo bed, the rear window of the vehicle should be visible in the far-right section of the picture. But instead, what would be the cargo bed tapers off into nothingness. Tesla fans online have obviously attempted to decipher Musk’s cryptic image but this has only led to a mixed bag of theories. Redditor u/3LRD believes the image depicts the front of the car. He reasons that the Tesla logo would be on the hood rather than the bed and that the U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration requires red taillights on all vehicles. “We’re definitely seeing the front,” they wrote. “There’s no way the T would be on the back, and also no way the back lights would not be red. Even in a concept image, the rear lights are red. Why would they not be? It’s a GLOBAL requirement to have red brake lights.” Previous render of the Tesla Pickup Truck. Tesla Users u/TheAmazingAaron and u/waytomuchsparetime, on the other hand, offered evidence for continuing to subscribe to the cargo bed theory. They made renders which show similar arrays on the Toyota Tundra and Cadillac Escalade EXT, respectively. On the other hand, seeing how adamant Musk has been about describing the Tesla Pickup as something out of Blade Runner, it’s unlikely he’ll borrow too heavily from other automaker’s designs. What we know so far about the pickup truck’s designs could prove to be a bit controversial with some pickup truck consumers. A satellite installer and a farmer previously told Inverse that its look, at the fact that they may need special parts to repair it, would be dealbreakers for many in the market for a true performance vehicle. Even among enthusiasts for Tesla’s mission to accelerate the transition to fossil fuels, there remain skeptics that Tesla’s cyberpunk design will be able to deliver on practicality. When one searches on Google for "Tesla pickup truck," there is no shortage of imagined renderings. Google Images It’s an important potential market for Tesla. Pickup truck was the most popular type of car sold in the U.S. during the first half of 2018. The top three best-selling car models were all pickups, according to according to data from Kelley Blue Book. All of these models use a gas-powered engine, meaning Tesla would have little competition if it is able to among the first to deliver a mainstream electric pickup truck to market.<doc-sep>Hi! We notice you're using an ad blocker. Please consider allowing Autoblog. We get it. Ads can be annoying. But ads are also how we keep the garage doors open and the lights on here at Autoblog - and keep our stories free for you and for everyone. And free is good, right? If you'd be so kind as to allow our site, we promise to keep bringing you great content. Thanks for that. And thanks for reading Autoblog. Allow Us!<doc-sep>
Elon Musk has released the first teaser image of Tesla’s electric pickup truck, which he describes as a ‘cyberpunk’ truck and inspired by Blade Runner. As we reported earlier today, Tesla unveiled a ‘one more thing’ last night but everyone missed it. Tesla reportedly flashed an image on the main screen as everyone was heading in the back of the room for the Model Y test rides. It was rumored to be a teaser for the electric pickup, which Musk has now confirmed. Last year, Musk bewildered many when he said that the Tesla Pickup Truck will have a ‘really futuristic-like cyberpunk Blade Runner’ design. Today, he pointed out that Tesla played the end titles from Blade Runner played after the Model Y webcast ended and unveiled the teaser image of the Tesla Pickup: About a minute in, we flashed a teaser pic of Tesla cyberpunk truck pic.twitter.com/hLsGsdyuGA — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 16, 2019 It is the very first official image of the Tesla Pickup Truck other than a previous pickup version of the Tesla Semi, which has never been clearly slated for production. This new truck is something that Tesla actually wants to do and unveil later this year. Here’s another version of the image with modified exposure to have a better idea of the shape: Musk has previously said that the vehicle is his favorite of all Tesla’s current new vehicle programs, but he thinks that it “may be too futuristic for most people.” Aside from the design, which we are starting to know more about with this image, we already know quite a bit about the Tesla Pickup Truck’s specs after Musk sought suggestions about the vehicle in development and shared some of the targeted specs. He talked about it being a 6-seater “big truck” with an option for 400 to 500 miles of range, “maybe higher”. It is set to be unveiled later this year, but the actual timeline to production is still unclear. Electrek’s Take To be honest, I’m not sure what I’m looking at. Is it the bed of the truck? Is the front end? I am not sure. Please enlightened me in the comment section below. Maybe it’s just a bad teaser, but I am starting to understand Elon’s comment about maybe the Tesla truck being too futuristic for most people. That said, it sounds like they are still doing it. When it comes to delivering great products, Tesla has a pretty good track record. We will see… FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More. Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.