Elon Musk promises to make a Tesla pickup truck, said he is ‘dying to build’ one

Source: By Arjun Kharpal, CNBC • Posted: Wednesday, January 3, 2018

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Tesla will make a pickup truck in the future, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday, adding that he was “dying to build it.”

Musk took to Twitter to ask his 17.1 million followers how the electric car and power company “can improve further.”

While many talked about the various software upgrades, one Twitter user asked for an electric pickup truck. Musk said it is on the way and that he’d been thinking about the design elements for almost five years.

Musk said this would happen after the Model Y, a crossover SUV that Musk has hinted at both on Twitter and on a Tesla conference call earlier this year. Musk said in May that the Model Y would be built “using substantial carryover from [the Model] 3 in order to bring it to market faster.”

I promise that we will make a pickup truck right after Model Y. Have had the core design/engineering elements in my mind for almost 5 years. Am dying to build it.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 26, 2017

When asked if the pickup would be comparable in size to Ford‘s F-150 line of trucks, Musk said it would have a “similar total size.” He added that the Tesla truck may be slightly bigger, saying it he wants it to account “for a really game-changing” feature.

For now, Tesla is focusing on ramping up production of its mass-market Model 3 car. The company posted a wider-than-expected loss in the third quarter of 2017 as it produced very few of the Model 3 cars. Tesla has had a number of problems with the production of the Model 3.

Tesla’s stock is up over 48% year-to-date.