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Elon Musk’s Tesla pickup truck will likely have few competitors from legacy auto
Elon Musk admits that while Tesla probably has the most exciting product roadmap in the industry today, he has a soft spot for the company’s upcoming pickup truck. In a recent appearance at the Recode Decode podcast hosted by veteran tech journalist Kara Swisher, Musk stated that the Tesla Truck would be “super futuristic,” to the point where it would not look out of place in the Blade Runner franchise.
Musk candidly added that if the first pickup, with its cyberpunk tech and features, proves too radical for the market, then Tesla would release a more conventional truck. Ultimately, it remains to be seen if the company would breach the pickup market through Elon Musk’s Blade Runner cyberpunk truck or a more conventional pickup, but one thing is sure. Tesla would soon be competing in America’s most lucrative auto segment.
It could be argued that pickup trucks are the quintessential American vehicles. In 2017 alone, pickup truck sales across the US accounted for 16.4% of the country’s total car sales. Within this number were nearly 900,000 Ford F-Series pickups and about 950,000 GM-branded trucks. Speaking to Trucks.com last January, Michael Ramsey, an automotive analyst at Gartner Inc., noted that in several areas in the US, a truck is a preferable vehicle for consumers.
“In many areas of the country, the truck is just the preferred lifestyle look. They handle much better than before, and with the aid of technology, are even easier to navigate in tight spaces. The U.S. is ideally suited to bigger vehicles because of big parking spaces and roads,” the auto analyst said.
While the disruption of the auto industry with electric-powered vehicles could be felt in the passenger car market thanks to vehicles like the Tesla Model 3, the EV movement is yet to breach the pickup truck segment. EV startups like Bollinger Motors and Rivian are working on all-electric pickup trucks, but both companies are still building facilities capable of manufacturing vehicles on a mass scale. Rivian, for one, is tooling its 2.6 million sq ft factory in Normal, IL. Legacy automakers, which actually have the necessary infrastructure to mass produce all-electric trucks, have mostly taken a rather conservative stance.
Ford has noted that it is developing a hybrid version of its best-selling F-150 pickup truck. In a post on its official website, the company stated that the F-150 hybrid would be a vehicle with no-compromises, “from low-end torque for extra pulling power to serving as a mobile generator on the job site.” Ford, though, has not announced an official release date for the vehicle, though there is speculation that the legacy automaker would launch the hybrid truck around 2020.
GM, on the other hand, recently took an even more conservative stance. In a statement to the Detroit Free Press, vice president of global strategy Mike Abelson declared that GM would lead the EV industry in the “next decade or so.” Despite this, Abelson noted that its core business — comprised of large, gasoline and diesel-powered pickup trucks — would remain intact for the next couple of decades.
“The core business is going to be the core business for a couple of decades to come. There will not be any AV/EV pickups,” Abelson said.
With legacy automakers seemingly taking their time once more, Elon Musk’s Blade Runner truck might end up being one of the first movers in the electric pickup market. And if there is anything that could be learned in the domination of the Model S and 3 in their respective segments, ignoring Tesla and the potential of its vehicles could be a pretty big mistake.
In a brief brainstorming session on Twitter earlier this year, Elon Musk accepted suggestions for features that would be useful for the upcoming Tesla pickup truck. Among these include four-wheel steering, the capability to parallel park itself, seating for six people, a 240-volt connection for power tools, and a maximum towing capacity of 300,000 pounds. Tesla is yet to provide a teaser for the release date of its pickup truck, though speculations are high that the vehicle would be announced after the Model Y, which is expected to be unveiled in 2019.
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirms Robotaxi safety monitor removal in Austin: here’s when
Musk has made the claim about removing Safety Monitors from Tesla Robotaxi vehicles in Austin three times this year, once in September, once in October, and once in November.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed on Tuesday at the xAI Hackathon that the company would be removing Safety Monitors from Robotaxis in Austin in just three weeks.
This would meet Musk’s timeline from earlier this year, as he has said on several occasions that Tesla Robotaxis would have no supervision in Austin by the end of 2025.
On Tuesday, Musk said:
“Unsupervised is pretty much solved at this point. So there will be Tesla Robotaxis operating in Austin with no one in them. Not even anyone in the passenger seat in about three weeks.”
Musk has made the claim about removing Safety Monitors from Tesla Robotaxi vehicles in Austin three times this year, once in September, once in October, and once in November.
In September, he said:
“Should be no safety driver by end of year.”
The safety driver is just there for the first few months to be extra safe.
Should be no safety driver by end of year.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2025
On the Q3 Earnings Call in October, he said:
“We are expecting ot have no safety drivers in at least large parts of Austin by the end of this year.”
Finally, in November, he reiterated the timeline in a public statement at the Shareholder Meeting:
“I expect Robotaxis to operate without safety drivers in large parts of Austin this year.”
Currently, Tesla uses Safety Monitors in Austin in the passenger’s seat on local roads. They will sit in the driver’s seat for highway routes. In the Bay Area ride-hailing operation, there is always a Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat.
Three weeks would deliver on the end-of-year promise, cutting it close, beating it by just two days. However, it would be a tremendous leap forward in the Robotaxi program, and would shut the mouths of many skeptics who state the current iteration is no different than having an Uber.
Tesla has also expanded its Robotaxi fleet this year, but the company has not given exact figures. Once it expands its fleet, even more progress will be made in Tesla’s self-driving efforts.
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SpaceX reportedly mulling IPO, eyeing largest of all time: report
“I do want to try to figure out some way for Tesla shareholders to participate in SpaceX. I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how to give people access to SpaceX stock,” Musk said.
SpaceX is reportedly mulling an initial public offering, eyeing what would be the largest valuation at the time of availability of all time, a new report from Bloomberg said on Tuesday.
It is one of many reports involving one of Elon Musk’s companies and a massive market move, as this is not the first time we have seen reports of an IPO by SpaceX. Musk himself has also dispelled other reports in the past of a similar nature, including an xAI funding round.
SpaceX and Musk have yet to comment on the report. In the past, untrue reports were promptly replied to by the CEO; this has not yet gained any response, which is a good sign in terms of credibility.
However, he said just a few days ago that stories of this nature are inaccurate:
“There has been a lot of press claiming SpaceX is raising money at $800B, which is not accurate. SpaceX has been cash flow positive for many years and does periodic stock buybacks twice a year to provide liquidity for employees and investors. Valuation increments are a function of progress with Starship and Starlink and securing global direct-to-cell spectrum that greatly increases our addressable market. And one other thing that is arguably most significant by far.”
There has been a lot of press claiming @SpaceX is raising money at $800B, which is not accurate.
SpaceX has been cash flow positive for many years and does periodic stock buybacks twice a year to provide liquidity for employees and investors.
Valuation increments are a…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 6, 2025
Musk has discussed a potential IPO for SpaceX in recent months, as the November 6 shareholder meeting, as he commented on the “downsides” of having a public company, like litigation exposure, quarterly reporting pressures, and other inconveniences.
Nevertheless, Musk has also said he wants there to be a way for Tesla shareholders to get in on the action. At the meeting in early November, he said:
“I do want to try to figure out some way for Tesla shareholders to participate in SpaceX. I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how to give people access to SpaceX stock.”
Additionally, he added:
“Maybe at some point., SpaceX should become a public company despite all the downsides of being public.”
Musk has been historically reluctant to take SpaceX public, at times stating it could become a barrier to colonizing Mars. That does not mean it will not happen.
Bloomberg’s report cites multiple unidentified sources who are familiar with the matter. They indicate to the publication that SpaceX wants to go public in mid-to-late 2026, and it wants to raise $30 billion at a valuation of around $1.5 trillion.
This is not the first time SpaceX has discussed an IPO; we reported on it nine years ago. We hope it is true, as the community has spoken for a long time about having access to SpaceX stock. Legendary investor Ron Baron is one of the lucky few to be a SpaceX investor, and said it, along with Tesla, is a “lifetime investment.”
Tesla bull Ron Baron reveals $100M SpaceX investment, sees 3-5x return on TSLA
The primary driver of SpaceX’s value is Starlink, the company’s satellite internet service. Starlink contributes 60-70 percent of SpaceX’s revenue, meaning it is the primary value engine. Launch services, like Falcon 9 contracts, and the development of Starship, also play supporting roles.
SpaceX reached an incredible milestone with its Starlink program with a launch last night, as the 3,000th satellite of the year was launched into low Earth orbit.
On Monday, SpaceX also achieved its 32nd flight with a single Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
The mission was Starlink 6-92, and it utilized the Falcon 9 B1067 for the 32nd time this year, the most-used Falcon booster. The flight delivered SpaceX’s 3000th Starlink satellite of the year, a massive achievement.
There were 29 Starlink satellites launched and deployed into LEO during this particular mission:
Falcon 9 launches 29 @Starlink satellites from Florida pic.twitter.com/utKrXjHzPN
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 9, 2025
SpaceX has a current goal of certifying its Falcon boosters for 40 missions apiece, according to Spaceflight Now.
The flight was the 350th orbital launch from the nearby SLC-40, and the 3,000 satellites that have been successfully launched this year continue to contribute to the company’s goal of having 12,000 satellites contributing to global internet coverage.
There are over five million users of Starlink, the latest data shows.
Following the launch and stage separation, the Falcon 9 booster completed its mission with a perfect landing on the ‘Just Read the Instructions’ droneship.
The mission was the 575th overall Falcon 9 launch, highlighting SpaceX’s operational tempo, which continues to be accelerated. The company averages two missions per week, and underscores CEO Elon Musk’s vision of a multi-planetary future, where reliable connectivity is crucial for remote work, education, and emergency response.
As Starlink expands and works toward that elusive and crucial 12,000 satellite goal, missions like 6-92 pave the way for innovations in telecommunications and enable more internet access to people across the globe.
With regulatory approvals in over 100 countries and millions of current subscribers, SpaceX continues to democratize space, proving that reusability is not just feasible, but it’s also revolutionary.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirms Robotaxi safety monitor removal in Austin: here’s when
SpaceX reportedly mulling IPO, eyeing largest of all time: report
