Why the Cybertruck “far surpasses” other utes, and will maintain its value

The Cybertruck, unveiled in late November by Tesla CEO and co-founder Elon Musk, breaks all the rules of traditional utility truck design (known as utes in Australia and trucks in the US).

Views have been sharply divided about the cold-rolled, ultra-hard steel exoskeleton and the choice of a polygonal, “cyberpunk” look, and the short-sellers that have long targeted Tesla stock have fired up their ammunition again.

Even so, the Cybertruck has garnered more than 250,000 fully refundable pre-orders (at a cost of $US100, or $A150 in Australia) since it was unveiled last month.

Now, analysts at Ark Invest, including Tesla bull Cathie Wood, say that the Cybertruck “far surpasses” other utes and will hold more of its value than other vehicles.

Wood is unashamedly pro-Tesla – her bull case for Tesla stock is currently $US4,000, or $A5,870, for a five year outlook. That’s more than 10-times the current value of the stock, which she holds in her own portfolio.

On the Cybertruck, Wood told US news agency CNBC on Monday (US time), “We’ve analyzed it from many different angles…it far surpasses other trucks.”

Referencing fellow Ark Invest analyst Sam Korus, who has published a series of charts on Twitter comparing the Cybertruck and the F-150, she says, “There’s just no comparison.”

Korus’ charts, which can be seen via this thread below, suggest that by the time the $US39,990 ($A58,696 converted) single motor Cybertruck launches it will in fact be cheaper than the comparable 2.7 litre Ford F-150 Supercrew.

On three other measurements – cost per horsepower, per torque, and per cargo space – the cheapest Cybertruck beats the F-150. It only comes in higher than the F-150 on towing capacity.

Even the most expensive version of the Cybertruck – the $US69,990 ($A102,730 converted) tri-motor – will beat a top-of-the-range 3.5 litre F-150 Raptor, says Korus.

“This isn’t even taking into account total cost of ownership and gas savings,” he notes.