Ordinarily I'd agree but at a $39K base price, at first glance it seems quite practical and probably made execs at the big car companies pee a little bit in their pants. I'm sure this is a bit specious, and there will be a pile of add-ons that will certainly qualify as increasingly conspicuous.

It should be extremely hard to believe the price. Basic estimates put the cost of the cheapest model's battery at over $20,000, even at Tesla's magic $100/kWh number.

The single-motor $39,900 model is likely to be about as real as the $35,000 Model 3.

$35k model 3 wasn’t that far from true. You can get a model 3 bare bones for less than 40k right now.

Please elaborate in the context of the Cybertruck (isn't part of the appeal its relatively low cost)?

At $40,000, it's still a luxury vehicle. It's exactly as conspicuous as a Hummer.

I don't see it as any more conspicuous than a Model 3 at $35k. You're getting a truck and more functionality, so $5k seems like extreme value, not conspicuous. It's also an EV, so the equivalent ICE car should cost around ~$30k, which is a nicely trimmed sedan, but certainly not a luxury truck.

Woah, I was never excluding the other models from my assessment.

Do you consider the Model 3 to be conspicuous consumption?

but it really is so much more eco friendly

Sure, if you ignore the lithium mining.

Overall I agree but we really need the equivalent of a corolla before EVs takes off, and sourcing lithium is a major pain in the ass. Thank god for the convenient change of power to a business friendly party in bolivia! (/s)

What would actually be eco-friendly (and substantially cheaper) is CNG conversion of a used truck. You can do that today for under $5k. Driving one of these instead of any other consumer car makes as much sense as driving a Hummer in the suburbs.