Tesla Confuses Investors With Pickup Truck Reveal

Shares of Tesla plunged 6.1% Friday after the Thursday night reveal of the company’s new “pickup truck” was confusing and disappointing to investors.

Investors had been envisioning a competitor to the full-sized pickup trucks from Ford and Chevrolet, but instead Tesla unveiled an angular steel behemoth that looked like something out of a post apocalyptic  sci-fi film. Certainly the claims for the trucks towing capacity and range are impressive, but with its oddball design it is destined to be a niche product at best.

This is not a truck for conventional truck buyers, at least not in its current form. That means it won’t sell anywhere near the numbers that the top-selling Detroit-produced full-sized pick-ups do. Investors are obviously adjusting their expectations accordingly, and selling Tesla shares.

Tesla is offering reservations for the new truck for just $100, which is likely a ploy to rack up strong reservation numbers and woo investors. Buyers should beware however that the Tesla website states the first models won’t be delivered until late 2021 at the earliest. Both Ford and GM are expected to have their own battery-powered pickup trucks released by that time, and we can bet they will mirror the designs of the popular gas-powered full-sized trucks already available.

Obviously it’s too early to say for sure how Tesla will fare against the competition, but at this point investors are betting that Tesla has missed a prime opportunity.

After Friday’s drop shares of Tesla are basically flat for the year. Third quarter results were strong, so there’s still hope for a recovery later in the year.