Elon Musk described it as the “coolest car” he’s ever seen, and is planning to unveil the Tesla bakkie as soon as November. But don’t get your hopes up.

Musk is known for being notoriously optimistic. In November 2018, he promised the Tesla advanced Summon would be ready in six weeks, and we’ve been waiting nearly a year already.

What to expect from the Tesla bakkie

An early concept image of the bakkie was released by Tesla two years ago, with Musk tweeting about it again in March 2019. Musk also said that pickup truck would boast a “cyberpunk design,” and would “not look out of place in Blade Runner.”

Performance

He also hinted that the Tesla bakkie would have six seats, 400 to 500 miles of range per charge, a dual-motor AWD, a 240-volt connection for heavy-duty tools, and up to 300 000 pounds of towing capacity.

Tesla never fails to deliver, performance-wise. Even if the release date and price seems a bit off, we can rest assured that the Tesla bakkie would make its competitors look like a toy car.

That said, it would still face stiff competition from Ford, who has been teasing it’s own all-electric F-150. However, the electric F-150 would probably only make it dealerships in 2021. In the Ride the Lightning podcast, Musk explained:

Interior

If rumours are to be believed, the Tesla pickup will have “more physical controls and less touchscreen,” but with plenty of glossy surfaces and more durable materials.

That said, it is likely that the Tesla bakkie will come standard with the latest roster of tech, including the driver-assistance features such as the autonomous and semi-autonomous driver modes.

How much will the Tesla bakkie cost?

Musk announced that the Tesla bakkie would cost $49 000 “at most”, or approximately R720 000, which seems a bit low. Musk said at the time: