Tesla considering smaller compact pickup truck (baby Cybertruck?)

[HaulingAss]

I watched that interview. Didn’t sound like anything was remotely close to happening on this front. Just from tone/facial expressions/body language.

Ding, ding, ding, we have a thread winner!

You are absolutely correct, the source of the idea that Tesla is about to build a smaller truck is just an attempt by Business Insider (and the laughable parroting by Electrek) trying to make people wait for a smaller truck (rather than simply buying a Cybertruck now). It's a way to plant a seed of doubt in potential buyers minds in an attempt to hurt Cybertruck sales.

There are zero plans for Tesla to build a smaller truck (talking about it for years is different from actually planning on it). Even if they decided to design and build a smaller truck tomorrow, it wouldn't hit the market until well into the 2030's.

Never trust Business Insider or Electrek to give you real unbiased news. This is a fake story designed to push a fake narrative. You don't even have to be particularly smart to see what is going on here.

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[HaulingAss]

The Truckla was a modified 2018 Model 3. The Model Y would probably be a better platform for a small pickup, but it wasn't available until 2020.

The recently announced Model YL is 195.9 inches long. If the Model Y platform could be stretched another 4 inches, it would match the Ford Maverick, which is 199.7 inches long.

The forthcoming Slate is only 174.6 inches long, but the pickup configuration only has two doors and two seats.

Do you like girly trucks? The Model Y is the wrong platform for a real truck. Real trucks have a purpose, that is to haul and tow things. A truck based on the Model Y would get laughed right off the stage by anyone who actually understands trucks. Anyone with an engineering background should be able to see that basic truth.

 

[dakota]

Ding, ding, ding, we have a thread winner!

You are absolutely correct, the source of the idea that Tesla is about to build a smaller truck is just an attempt by Business Insider (and the laughable parroting by Electrek) trying to make people wait for a smaller truck (rather than simply buying a Cybertruck now). It's a way to plant a seed of doubt in potential buyers minds in an attempt to hurt Cybertruck sales.

There are zero plans for Tesla to build a smaller truck (talking about it for years is different from actually planning on it). Even if they decided to design and build a smaller truck tomorrow, it wouldn't hit the market until well into the 2030's.

Never trust Business Insider or Electrek to give you real unbiased news. This is a fake story designed to push a fake narrative. You don't even have to be particularly smart to see what is going on here.

10 years ago, I enjoyed Electrek. Now it’s one hit piece after another.

 

[BlueLightning]

Tesla's engineering VP, Lars Moravy, said during X takeover event that Tesla has "always talked about making a smaller pickup." [/B

Let me guess the price:

$39k RWD, $49k Duel, and $69k for Tri

 

[YDR37]

Model Y is the wrong platform for a real truck. Real trucks have a purpose, that is to haul and tow things.

Your points may be accurate, but they are also irrelevant.

You probably don't think that the Ford Maverick is a "real truck" either. After all, it uses the same platform as the Ford Escape crossover, which is even smaller than the Model Y. And yet:

1H 2025 Ford Maverick Sales: 86,056 (up from 1H 2024)
1H 2025 Tesla Cybertruck Sales: 10,712 (down from 1H 2024)

It doesn't matter whether a Maverick, or a Model Y with a bed, is a "real truck". Call them "fake trucks' if you like. The issue is whether a Tesla "fake truck" would sell better than the Cybertruck. The Maverick may be a "fake truck", but it crushes the Cybertruck in terms of sales, and a Model Y with a bed probably would as well.

A truck based on the Model Y would get laughed right off the stage by anyone who actually understands trucks. Anyone with an engineering background should be able to see that basic truth.

That's also irrelevant, because you don't have to market "fake trucks" to those people. Instead, you can market them to people who don't actually understand trucks and who don't have engineering backgrounds. This is also a large market.

Realistically, I don't actually expect Tesla to release a small Cybertruck, or a Model Y with a bed, or anything else in the small truck department. The surprising thing is that nobody else has released a small EV truck either. If there is demand for such a thing, the market will be wide open for Slate (and I can already guess that you think Slate is a "fake truck" too).

 

[tingmo13]

Ding, ding, ding, we have a thread winner!

You are absolutely correct, the source of the idea that Tesla is about to build a smaller truck is just an attempt by Business Insider (and the laughable parroting by Electrek) trying to make people wait for a smaller truck (rather than simply buying a Cybertruck now). It's a way to plant a seed of doubt in potential buyers minds in an attempt to hurt Cybertruck sales.

There are zero plans for Tesla to build a smaller truck (talking about it for years is different from actually planning on it). Even if they decided to design and build a smaller truck tomorrow, it wouldn't hit the market until well into the 2030's.

Never trust Business Insider or Electrek to give you real unbiased news. This is a fake story designed to push a fake narrative. You don't even have to be particularly smart to see what is going on here.

 

[ABILISK]

Do you like girly trucks? The Model Y is the wrong platform for a real truck. Real trucks have a purpose, that is to haul and tow things. A truck based on the Model Y would get laughed right off the stage by anyone who actually understands trucks. Anyone with an engineering background should be able to see that basic truth.

Ever seen a Slate?

 

[YDR37]

The Maverick may be a "fake truck", but it crushes the Cybertruck in terms of sales, and a Model Y with a bed probably would as well.

Tesla recently announced the Model Y L, an extended-length version of the Model Y with three rows of seats. Now let's suppose that Tesla offered an optional short bed instead of the third row of seats. Let's also suppose that this hypothetical Model Y Bed Option (MYBO) was available in all of Tesla's global markets, including Europe and Asia as well as North America.

How many Model Y customers would go for the MYBO? Let's be conservative and assume that 95% of Model Y customers would prefer the traditional SUV format. This means that only 5% (or 1 out of 20) would opt for the MYBO.

And in that case, the MYBO would become Tesla's top-selling pickup, ahead of the Cybertruck. In 2024, the Model Y outsold the Cybertruck by about 30 to 1. So even if only 5% of Model Y sales were MYBOs, that configuration would still outsell the Cybertruck by about 1.5 to 1.

As stated previously, I don't actually expect Tesla to offer this option. The point is simply that a hypothetical MYBO could easily outsell the Cybertruck, if it captured just a small fraction of Model Y sales.

 

[YDR37]

Do you like girly trucks?

I like both Simone and her truck.

 

[Effonefiddy Lightning]

Already been done...

Thats funny, I've seen that in Altadena Ca, I believe he runs a motorcycle riding school.

 

[YDR37]

Thats funny, I've seen that in Altadena Ca, I believe he runs a motorcycle riding school.

I've heard that the original creator of the truck moved to the LA area and then sold it.

 

[Crissa]

They need to build what they can and think about profit later.

-Crissa

 

[Limes2]

Here is a video where she explains what happen to Truckla.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

For YDR37.....

They are looking at a Mavrick EV in model year 2027 from that I have read.

Also I consider my Mavrick a real truck as I do haul some stuff. Just at 66 I do not need to do the real heavy duty stuff anymore. There are many pics on the Mavrick forum of workers using there Mav's for work trucks.

Be safe, Be careful, and put on your camera's when parked.

 

[cadamo001]

I don't believe the form factor to be the limiting spec with the Cybertruck or any EV truck. It's the price. End of story. The Rivian is a smaller form factor truck, and is awesome, and they sell none of them. They need an EV truck that costs $50k. I do realize that is impossible right now but my point is that it's the cost, not the size. Case in point F150 sales...

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