Elon Musk 'Wasn't Sure If Nobody Would Buy It'—But Had A Backup Plan To Ditch Cybertruck Design and Build One That 'Looks Like The Others'
Elon Musk didn't design the Cybertruck for mass appeal. He designed it to intimidate. The futuristic wedge on wheels was a gamble—and Musk knew it. "I wasn't sure if nobody would buy it or a lot of people would buy it," he said on the "Third Row Tesla" podcast in 2020. Just in case it flopped, Musk had a Plan B. "I told the team, ‘Listen, if nobody wants to buy this, we can always make one that looks like the other trucks.'" He continued, "It was a weird failure? Fine. Just make one that looks like the others, and there you go." Don't Miss: During the podcast, Musk opened up about everything from factory logistics to shipping nightmares through Tierra del Fuego. But it was his blunt admission about Cybertruck's risk—that it might totally tank—that stood out. The truck's design, he said, was inspired by "Blade Runner," "Mad Max," "Back to the Future," and "Aliens"—a literal "futuristic armored personnel carrier" meant to out-tough every other pickup on the market. Musk said that people in the U.S. buy pickup trucks because "it's like, which one is the most badass? Which one is the toughest? It's like, yeah, that one—like a tank." He wasn't exaggerating. The stainless steel slab looked more like a tank from the future than something you'd find on a job site. But when Tesla unveiled it in late 2019, even some die-hard fans were confused. Musk himself was unsure whether anyone would actually buy it. His brother, Kimball, agreed it was a "daring" design choice—but said Elon was clearly the most excited about it. Elon doubled down, saying, "I think it's our best product ever." Trending: It’s no wonder Jeff Bezos holds over $250 million in art — this alternative asset has outpaced the S&P 500 since 1995, delivering an average annual return of 11.4%. Here’s how everyday investors are getting started. Still, that “weird failure” Musk joked about hasn’t aged so well. Despite an initial surge of enthusiasm and an estimated 39,000 Cybertrucks sold in 2024, sales nearly halved in 2025. According to InsideEVs analysis of Cox Automotive data, only 20,200 were sold last year—a nearly 19,000-unit drop, the steepest decline for any EV model in the U.S., including some that were discontinued altogether. The hype was real, though. Back in 2019, then-Kelley Blue Book executive publisher Karl Brauer called the performance and pricing specs "undeniable" and predicted that even if the look was polarizing, demand would still be high among Tesla loyalists. "How far beyond Tesla's customer base will the Cybertruck reach?" he asked. That's still an open question. Musk, for his part, made it clear that part of the truck's purpose was to stand out. "Everything else is like the same," he said. "Variations on the same theme. You want to have something different." See Also: If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it? And that, it definitely was. Even if sales suggest many buyers still prefer their trucks to look less like alien hardware and more like, well, trucks. As Musk put it himself: "You don't just try it and then give up." Musk takes wild swings—sometimes they land like rockets, sometimes like broken windows. But he's still the richest man in the world, and the Cybertruck won't be his last moonshot. Whether it redefines the pickup or fades into Tesla trivia, the bigger bet is always on what comes next. For investors drawn to bold innovation—but without the risk of designing a stainless-steel tank—Fundrise offers a way to invest in private tech companies long before they go public. With just $10, you can back startups shaping the future, one smart bet at a time. Read Next: Why Billionaires Like Warren Buffett Prefer Real Assets Over Speculation—Institutional Real Estate Is Now Accessible to Individuals Image: Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga: This article Elon Musk 'Wasn't Sure If Nobody Would Buy It'—But Had A Backup Plan To Ditch Cybertruck Design and Build One That 'Looks Like The Others' originally appeared on Benzinga.com © 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
