Tesla’s chief has pledged to make a pick-up truck as part of future plans for the electric vehicle maker. Elon Musk made the promise on Twitter after asking his followers for suggestions about how the firm could improve.
He said the open-backed truck would follow the Model Y – a yet-to-be-detailed car, which is expected to be based on its Model 3 sedan. But experts note Tesla has suffered repeated delivery delays, reports BBC.
That has led some to question whether the loss-making company can meet its existing commitments – which also include a forthcoming articulated lorry and sports car.
Mr. Musk also made several promises about new features Tesla intends to add to its existing vehicles, including intelligent windscreen wipers
Pick-up trucks are particularly popular in the US, with sales by the three leading manufacturers currently totaling about $90bn (£67bn) a year, according to data from Morningstar Equity Research.
Demand for the trucks has also risen over the past 12 months, despite a drop for other types of “light vehicle”. Mr. Musk had previously hinted at his plans when an image showing an obscured pick-up was briefly shown being carried on the back of its Semi lorry at a press conference in November.
In his tweets, Mr. Musk said the vehicle would likely be “slightly bigger” than Ford’s bestselling F-150 pick-up to allow it to contain an unspecified “game-changing” feature.
“I have had the core design/engineering elements in my mind for almost five years,” he added.
In addition, the entrepreneur also appeared to make several commitments to requested updates for its current vehicle range via a series of brief replies, including:
Mr. Musk’s ambitions contrast with Tesla’s recent performance. In November, the firm declared its biggest quarterly loss to date – $619m – and admitted that it was months behind schedule with Model 3 deliveries.
