Elon Musk reveals Tesla's electric Cybertruck and smashes its windows

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has unveiled his much-hyped 'Cybertruck' in Los Angeles, revealing an electric pickup that could have been plucked from the movies Total Recall or Blade Runner. 

The Cybertruck is Musk's futuristic answer to the Ford F-150, but with the same technology, speed and power that Tesla vehicles are known for. 

The vehicle emerged on stage to wild cheers from fans holding smartphones to capture the first glimpse of Musk's well-kept secret project to transform the pickup truck market. 

Tesla's Cybertruck looks like no other pickup truck on Earth, with sharp edges, a retro-futuristic design, and body armor made from "ultra hard, cold-rolled stainless steel alloy" that Musk's SpaceX business is using for the giant Starship rocket. 

Musk and his team demonstrated how tough the metal armor was by smashing the Cybertruck's front door with a sledgehammer, which left no visible dents or marks. On the same day, SpaceX was pressure testing a Starship prototype in Texas and blew its top off.

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The team also demonstrated the strength of the glass used for the Cybertruck's windows. The first part of the demo involved dropping a metal ball on to a sheet of normal car windows glass from a height of about one meter. The glass cracked. Then the team dropped the same metal ball from roughly three meters on to what Musk called "Tesla armor glass". It didn't crack. 

But the demo didn't go quite to plan when a Tesla engineer threw the metal ball at the Cybertruck's front window. The ball, pitched at medium pace, punctured the window and shattered it from edge to edge.

"Maybe that was a little too hard," said Musk, laughing. "It didn't go through," he added. 

Then the same test, at a lower velocity, was applied to the back window. It shattered from edge to edge too, but didn't pierce the window.

"Oh man," said Musk. "It didn't go through."

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In front of the Cybertruck and its smashed windows, Musk proceeded to detail the Cybertruck's specifications. It will come with three ranges: 250 miles, 300 miles, and 500 miles. It will also feature 110V and 220V outlets, as well as an onboard air compressor, which relies on the vehicle's air suspension system. 

Musk announced a crowd-pleasing starting price of $39,900. 

While the Cybertruck doesn't appear to have a rear tray, the trunk can be opened and has a bed that is large enough to fit Tesla's new electric all-terrain vehicle (ATV), which can be plugged into the truck and charged. Tesla did not announce pricing or availability for the ATV.   

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