I couldn’t help but be reminded of one of my favorite movies of all time — Bladerunner — recently…
Not the recent movie Bladerunner 2049, but the original Ridley Scott masterpiece released in 1982.
It’s fun to go back and watch today, as the movie foretold a dystopian future of Los Angeles in 2019...
The movie is full of futuristic flying cars, genetically engineered humans referred to as “replicants,” and a powerful, ominous high-tech company known as Tyrell Corporation — the company responsible for creating the superhuman replicants.
I couldn’t help but think of Bladerunner as I’ve immensely enjoyed watching the new Tesla Cybertruck roll off of production lines for the first time over the last few weeks.
Its design is such a radically futuristic departure from what anyone would think of as a pickup truck…
For many of us, the first time we saw an image like the above, it was hard not to think that it was cool, very interesting, futuristic…
And that it wouldn’t sell.
It’s too far afield. Too much of a leap…
Weighing around 6,600 pounds with a max payload of 2,500 pounds and capable of towing 11,000 pounds, it is a beast of a truck. And it’s made entirely of stainless steel.
Not surprisingly, it’s also bulletproof against 45 caliber and 9 mm bullets. And it has impact resistant Armor Glass, and an air filtration system capable of “biodefense mode.”
I wouldn’t blame anyone for thinking this car is being built for an apocalypse.
It’s obviously over-engineered, with many features that just aren’t necessities for the majority of consumers.
And yet, I can’t deny it…
The truck is awesome. And it’s a remarkable piece of engineering, which comes as no surprise considering it comes from Elon Musk and his team at Tesla.
It’s also the most maligned new product that I can ever recall.
Of course, the media and the press have been absolutely ruthless towards Musk and Tesla, insisting that the Cybertruck would fail.
Aside from the Cybertruck’s unique design characteristics, working with stainless steel in automotive production comes with its own challenges.
Many said that the manufacturing would be too difficult for mass production…
Stainless steel is less malleable than aluminum. It comes in large rolls, and it is difficult to mold into new shapes. And it’s also a lot heavier than aluminum.
But these are just engineering challenges, not impossibilities.
Critics have insisted that Tesla wouldn’t be able to get to production, and “evidenced” this by calling out the delays from Tesla’s original 2021 production target.
I found these arguments to be idiotic. After all, the delays had nothing to do with impossible manufacturing problems…
Instead, the critics struggled to figure out that Tesla was too busy smashing records for electric vehicle (EV) production, which was creating tight supply chain conditions.
In other words: Model 3s and Model Ys have been flying out the doors of Tesla…
In fact, last May 2023, Tesla’s Model Y became the bestselling car in the world. Not the bestselling EV — the bestselling car of any kind, overtaking Toyota’s Corolla.
The biggest choke point in EV production is — not surprisingly — EV battery production. Naturally, Tesla prioritized batteries for its existing production vehicles.
Tesla’s volume production is driving the company’s free cash flow generation. And its scale of battery production and secured supply chain is the greatest single moat in the entire EV industry.
So who cares if the Cybertruck production was delayed a couple years?
Of course, it commands more clicks to headline how “ugly” the Cybertruck is…
And it’s much easier to rub Musk’s nose in his own delays than it is to admit what is simply the truth…
Tesla has been on absolute fire.
I first recommended Tesla back in November of 2018. It was the most controversial buy recommendation I’ve ever made.
It was polarizing. Many subscribers wrote in to tell me “no way,” “not this one”… or the tired and myopic refrain of “Tesla loses money on every car sold.”
Tesla stock is now up about 1,090% since that recommendation.
In 2018, everyone only saw Tesla for its far-out attempts at a self-driving electric vehicle.
I highlighted at the time that Tesla was not a traditional car manufacturing company. It was and is one of the most automated and advanced artificial intelligence companies on the planet.
Here’s what I wrote in the Near Future Report, one of my premium research services at the time:
First and Foremost, It’s an AI Company…
When I think about Tesla, I see one of the leading AI companies in the world. Not only does Tesla have the most advanced AI software, it has access and control of its AI network… And that network is its fleet of cars driven by its customers around the world.
This is the incredible part that most don’t see or understand. Tesla designed a software/AI platform designed to operate cars (and trucks). And every one of Tesla’s cars is a “connected” part of its own network.”
— Jeff Brown, November 2018, Near Future Report
I also highlighted the advantages of Tesla’s proprietary EV battery chemistry and production.
I demonstrated how this would give Tesla not only performance advantages, but also production cost advantages compared to the competition. Again, this was back in 2018.
But even today, many still haven’t grasped the potential of this remarkable company.
Tesla can often remind us of Apple. After all, no one knew that they wanted an iPhone (smartphone) prior to 2007. That’s because they didn’t exist — there was no reference point.
Steve Jobs and his team simply built what they thought would be cool and have immense utility. And we know what that led to. Apple is now almost a $3 trillion company.
Elon Musk and his team have done the same thing. They have built a cool, futuristic product with immense utility that no one has seen before.
Tesla has redefined the entire industry with its release of the Cybertruck.
Just to demonstrate how “stale” the pickup truck market has been, let’s take a look at the most successful selling line of vehicles in history — the Ford F series line of pickup trucks.
It has been the top selling vehicle in the U.S. market for more than 45 years. What an incredible run.
And yet, look at how remarkably similar the design has been over more than 50 years.
With the exception of the larger cab for more passengers, the design hasn’t changed much at all.
Ford sold 679,948 F-series trucks in 2023 in the U.S. — an impressive number…
But now it has some serious competition.
Just how serious? Well if we listen to the media, not much competition at all, because the Cybertruck is in trouble.
Some are still saying it won’t make it to mass production. And yet, Tesla began its first deliveries on November 30, 2023.
Far more important than its production launch, however, is the current demand for the Cybertruck.
Last March, Musk really stirred up the media by saying that demand for the Cybertruck was “so far off the hook, you can’t see the hook.”
The critics had a field day with that. And yet, by July of last year, orders for the Cybertruck passed through 1.9 million.
And over the last few weeks since the first production deliveries, when consumers suddenly realized the Cybertruck was in production, about 10,000 new orders have been coming in each day.
It’s estimated that there are about 2.3 million pre-orders for the Cybertruck.
How’s that for being off the hook? Fantastic.
The hard truth is that Ford, or any other car or truck manufacturer, would kill for an order book like that. They’d be jumping over the moon.
Oh, and did I also mention that, in addition to being the most innovative truck released in more than 50 years, the Cybertruck is capable of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) capabilities?
Ford managed to tweak the front cab design in the last 50 years, while the Cybertruck offers the “best of” Tesla’s self-driving and electric vehicle technology, which is by far better than that of any other car manufacturer. It just keeps getting better.
The critics claim that the orders aren’t real, and most won’t convert to sales. I find this baffling, considering we’ve already seen this same story play out with the Tesla Model S, Model X, and more recently the Model Y and Model 3. And the Cybertruck is the most radical redefinition of a vehicle segment in Tesla’s history.
It’s time for change. The market is ready for it and the order book proves it.
And oddly enough, this futuristic, apocalyptic design vibe is resonating.
Its design speaks to what’s happening in artificial intelligence right now, as well as to the chaos that has been unfolding against humanity, perpetrated by a small number of elites running governments and non-governmental organizations around the world.
We need to equip ourselves for what’s to come. We can feel it in our gut.
And let’s just hope that Elon Musk keeps his wits about him, stays alive, and keeps defending freedom and innovation…
With its self-driving cars and trucks, and its forthcoming intelligent, manifested AI, Optimus humanoid robots (@Tesla_Optimus), Tesla could become the alter ego of the evil Tyrell Corporation in Bladerunner.
And that would mean very good days ahead.
What do you think of this issue of Outer Limits? As always, we welcome your feedback and questions, and look forward to them. We read each and every email and address common questions in the Friday AMA issues. Please write to us by clicking here.
