One of the most anticipated vehicle launches of all time is set to happen in 2023. Investors who saw the potential of a hot product to hit the market in the future have been rewarded.
What Happened: Electric vehicle leader Tesla Inc.'s TSLA Cybertruck was unveiled by CEO Elon Musk at a public event on Nov. 22, 2019.
Since then, the electric pickup truck, which was inspired by “Blade Runner” and a vehicle in “The Spy Who Loved Me,” has seen a ton of attention thanks to its design and it being the first truck from Tesla. The truck is set for a production launch in 2023.
Tesla analysts and investors are expecting big things from the Cybertruck, likely helped by the fact that pickup trucks are among the top-selling vehicle models.
In 2022, the F-Series pickup truck from Ford Motor Co F was the top-selling vehicle in the U.S. with more than 650,000 units. Truck models from General Motors Co GM and Stellantis NV STLA ranked second and third for U.S. vehicles, respectively.
Five of the top 10 bestselling vehicles were pickup trucks in the U.S. in 2022.
With the launch of the Cybertruck, Tesla could more directly compete with legacy automakers for the highly coveted pickup truck market. Tesla will compete with existing electric pickup truck models on market such as the F-150 Lightning from Ford and the R1T from Rivian Automotive Inc RIVN.
Even before its release, the Cybertruck appeared on an episode of “The Simpsons.”
The unique design of the Cybertruck has drawn praise from the likes of Joe Rogan, while also seeing Jim Cramer question the look and if the vehicle will see demand outside of fans of Tesla and Musk.
The design also led to a third-party poll on if the Cybertruck should be considered a pickup truck at all.
Musk previously said the Cybertruck had more than 250,000 reservations a week after the reservations first opened. The reservation number is not known to the public, but third-party estimates put the figure more than 1.5 million in late 2022.
During its first-quarter earnings report, Tesla said it had begun tooling on the Cybertruck and production remained on track for later in 2023.
Musk has tried to downplay expectations for the Cybertruck.
“I always try to downplay the start of production because the start of production is always very slow. It increases exponentially, but it’s always very slow at first. So I wouldn’t put too much thought into start of production. It’s kind of when volume production actually happens, and that’s next year,” Musk said during the company’s fourth-quarter conference call.
Investors and analysts see the Cybertruck as a big catalyst, which could mean more upside for Tesla shares.
Related Link: Most Anticipated Vehicle Launch Ever? Here's How Many Tesla Cybertrucks Are Reserved: Report
Investing $1,000 in Tesla Stock: The Tesla Cybertruck was unveiled after market hours on Nov. 21, 2019.
Investors who were impressed with the design of the Cybertruck and the potential of an electric pickup truck in the lineup of Tesla vehicles have been rewarded.
A $1,000 investment could have purchased 2.94 shares of TSLA at the opening print on Nov. 22, 2019.
Tesla underwent stock splits of five-for-one in 2020 and three-for-one in 2022. The splits would take the 2.94 shares to 44.1 total Tesla shares.
The $1,000 investment would be worth $8,425.75 today based on a price of $191.06 for Tesla at the time of writing. The $1,000 investment would be up 742.6% since November 2019.
Investors who chose to invest in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, which tracks the top 500 U.S. stocks, wouldn’t have fared as well. The $1,000 investment in the SPY would be worth $1,341.20 today. This represents a return of 34.1%.
Read Next: Cathie Wood Shares Optimism For Cybertruck, Says It Will Destroy Rivals' Pricing Structure
Photo: Courtesy Tesla
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