- The Tesla Cybertruck is finally making its way into customers’ hands.
- Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is among the first Cybertruck owners.
- Not much is known about the exclusive first group of owners.
The first batch of Tesla’s long-awaited Cybertrucks has finally made it to customers.
Tesla delivered about a dozen of the trapezoidal trucks during an event that CEO Elon Musk promised would be “the biggest product launch of anything by far on Earth this year” — further building excitement for a product reveal four years in the making.
Hosted at the electric vehicle company’s Austin, Texas, headquarters, the launch lasted under half an hour and left some customers disappointed.
The first batch of trucks was delivered one by one to new owners — a woman in a beanie; a man and, presumably, his son, smiling for a photo with Musk; a bunch of men in their 30s or 40s, waving and fist-pumping as they drove away in the passenger seat.
Very little is known about these first Cybertruck owners. The company has not revealed how it chose who received the first ones, given that more than 2 million people have reportedly placed preorders for the truck.
But a few faces did jump out to viewers.
Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, who is married to tennis Grand Slam champion turned venture capitalist Serena Williams, was recognizable as he climbed into his truck wearing a jacket with the words “Invest in Women’s Sports” emblazoned on the back.
Trousdale Ventures founder Phillip Sarofim, who told a local news outlet he would be driving the truck back to Los Angeles, also stepped into his car on camera.
The others have yet to be identified, even by the Tesla superfans online.
The director Spike Lee, who wasn’t visible on the livestream, posted about the Cybertruck on Instagram. While some thought the post may have meant he was among the lucky new owners, a representative told Insider he is still on the waitlist.
The others are most likely wealthy Tesla devotees, as the car’s price and design likely make it relatively unattractive to the general public.
The truck will start at $60,990 and go up to $99,900 — with the cheapest model not unavailable until 2025. Those price tags are significantly more than the $39,900 that Tesla said it the Cybertruck would cost in 2019.
It’s unclear which of these models were delivered to customers last week, but some reports have indicated they were the $99,000 Cyberbeast.
The angular, futuristic design has also been polarizing. While experts seem to agree that Tesla fanatics will still shell out the cash for the odd-looking truck, there is still uncertainty around the truck’s broader appeal.
But with so few available, that doesn’t seem like it will be a problem for the EV company any time soon.
Update: December 6, 2023 — This story has been updated to add a comment from Spike Lee’s representative.
