Aug 4, 2020 - Energy & Climate

Elon Musk's Cybertruck escape hatch

Ben Geman

Elon Musk wears a face mask — Elon Musk at the Kennedy Space Center on May 27. Photo: Saul Martinez/Getty Images

Tesla CEO Elon Musk appears to be open to the idea that the blocky, sci-fi looking Cybertruck might not light the pickup truck market on fire.

Driving the news: Musk, in an interview with Automotive News, said building a more conventional-looking pickup is a "fallback strategy" if things don't work out for the Cybertruck that's slated to begin production next year.

Here's some interview details via Business Insider:

"Musk said he realized the Cybertruck could be 'a complete failure,' but the company has a back-up plan."

"But I wasn't super worried about that because if it turns out nobody wants to buy a weird-looking truck, we'll build a normal truck, no problem."

What we're watching: Musk said there are at least 200,000 reservations for the truck. However, it's hard to say how many of those refundable $100 reservations will translate to actual sales.

Go deeper: Elon Musk's chaos theory is paying off for Tesla — for now

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Elon Musk's Cybertruck escape hatch

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