Elon Musk says Tesla's pickup truck will cost less than $50,000

Elon Musk said on a podcast that Tesla's forthcoming pickup truck will cost less than $50,000.

“We don't want it to be really expensive,” he told the Ride the Lightning podcast.

He continued to say the truck will be better than the Ford F-150, which has been among the top-three best-selling pickup trucks in the US for years.

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Tesla's forthcoming pickup truck will start at no more than $50,000, chief executive Elon Musk said on a podcast published Sunday.

“We don't want it to be really expensive,” Musk told Ride the Lightning, which touts itself as the unofficial Tesla podcast. “I think it's got to start at less than $50,000, it's got to be like $49,000 starting price max, ideally less.”

Musk has been discussing a pickup truck since at least 2013, but things ratcheted up in 2018. Amid other possible features, Musk tweeted that the truck would have “crazy torque,” a dynamic suspension that adjusts for load, and outlets for power tools.

By December, Musk said a prototype would be available in 2019, adding that it would be built right after the Model Y. Given that the Model Y has yet to begin production — and Musk previously admitted issues when it comes to deadlines — it's unclear when a for-sale version of the truck might roll off the factory floor.

Still, getting into the truck business would make sense. Trucks, after all, more than double car sales in the United States in terms of individual units, according to Bloomberg vehicle sales data.

“It's gotta be something that's affordable,” Musk said on the podcast, hosted by Ryan McCaffrey. “There'd be versions of the car that are more expensive, but you've got to be able to get a really great truck for $49,000 or less.”

Musk compared the eventual Tesla truck to the Ford F-150, adding that the “goal is to be like a better truck than the F-150 in terms of truck-like functionality.” The F-150, by comparison, starts at under $30,000 and has been one of the US's best-selling trucks for decades.

“It's not going to be for everyone,” Musk said. “When we unveil this thing, there will be some people who are like 'Oh, that doesn't look like a truck. I don't want to buy it.' And it's like, when they came out with automobiles, people were like, 'I like a horse and carriage.' Okay, stick with your horse and carriage, but you're going to get an automobile later.”

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