Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk stands in front of the company's first electric pickup truck, the Cybertruck, after it was unveiled in Los Angeles, California, US, November 21, 2019, in this frame grab made from the livestream of the unveiling event. PHOTO: REUTERS
Dueling tough talk was exchanged on Twitter after Tesla chief executive Elon Musk posted a video of a freshly-unveiled "Cybertruck" trouncing a Ford F-150 in a tug-of-war.
The video had logged nearly 13 million views at Twitter as of early Tuesday in California, and been "retweeted" more than 110,000 times.
In the clip, a wedge-shaped Cybertruck drags an F-150 uphill, with smoke coming from Ford's rear wheels as it tries to go downhill.
"Better than a Ford F-150, faster than a Porsche 911," Musk claimed in an earlier tweet.
Tesla's cyber truck garners hilarious Twitter reactions
Ford Motor Company vice president Sunny Madra issued a challenge to Musk in response to the video,
"Hey @Elon, send us a Cybertruck and we will do the apples to apples test for you," Madra tweeted.
hey @elonmusk send us a cybertruck and we will do the apples to apples test for you 😉😉😉https://t.co/H3v6dCZeV5
— sunny madra (@sundeep) November 25, 2019
"Bring it on," Musk fired back.
Bring it on https://t.co/pCnln1NdRO
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2019
Musk's boasts ignited online debate, with Ford defenders arguing the F-150 was at a disadvantage for reasons that included lacking a load to enhance rear-wheel drive traction and that the Cybertruck may have gotten a head-start.
Tesla's new electric pickup truck has secured almost 150,000 orders, Musk said on Twitter just two days after its big reveal went embarrassingly wrong.
The billionaire Tesla co-founder floundered on stage in California last week when the vehicle's armored glass windows cracked in a demonstration intended to prove their indestructible design.
Musk suggests Tesla has 200,000 orders for Cybertruck
The industrial-looking Cybertruck is covered in the same steel alloy Musk plans to use for his SpaceX Starship rocket and will be able to go from 0 to 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour in about three seconds, the Tesla chief executive claimed in his presentation.
He said the entry-level model will have a starting price of $39,900 and a 400-kilometer (250-mile) range, while a deluxe option will be able to travel twice the distance and will sell for $69,900.
No date has been given for its release, but analysts said it would not be ready before the end of 2021 at the earliest.
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