The first Tesla Cybertruck has been sold at auction for $400,000, ten times its starting price of $40,000.
Jay Leno, the famed talk show host and car enthusiast, orchestrated a once-in-a-lifetime event at the 29th Petersen Auto Museum Charity Gala in Los Angeles, California. The world’s first Tesla Cybertruck, an electric pickup truck with a revolutionary design, was auctioned for a staggering $400,000. This event made headlines as the car reached nearly ten times its proposed consumer price.
The records from the gala confirmed that the Cybertruck auction yielded around $2.5 million for the museum and the educational initiatives associated with it. The generous donation contributes significantly to the advancement of automotive knowledge. Despite its higher auction value, the final bid for the Cybertruck was lower than the first fully electric Hummer, which fetched $2.5 million in a previous auction.
Management from the Petersen Museum was discreet about the logistics of the auction. They did not reveal the final amount of winning bids or the identity of the lucky Cybertruck buyer. However, they promised that Tesla would personally deliver the truck to the winner, assuming Tesla could meet the necessary production requirements. Despite the enthusiastic claims, it remained clear that the auctioned Cybertruck might not be the first of its kind to come off the production line.
To enter the auction, event attendees had to first afford the ticket price, set at a sizeable $1,750. A video shared by a Cybertruck fan @greggerruck showed a fierce bidding war that featured an attendee having their paddle forcibly taken from them. The competition certainly added entertainment value to the event and portrayed the high demand for the Tesla Cybertruck.
BREAKING: The Cybertruck auction at the Petersen Museum reportedly went for just $400,000
— Greggertruck (@greggertruck) October 8, 2023
Here is some of the auction!!! pic.twitter.com/YPrweLxG9c
Historically, the auctioned electric vehicles’ first unit models, also known as VIN 001 models, have fetched a high bid. The GMC Hummer EV SUV and pickup truck’s VIN 001 units sold for $2.5 million and $500,000, respectively. Interestingly enough, the Cybertruck unit auctioned off at the gala was described as a low-VIN unit, making it unclear if it would be the inaugural model off the production line.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long been known for his personal love of the brand’s VIN 001 vehicles and has kept several such first units for personal usage, including the original Tesla Roadster. As the production of the much-awaited 2024 Cybertruck begins, the anticipation for who will get the first unit is intensifying.
In a world where the shift towards sustainable transportation continues to gain momentum, Tesla’s Cybertruck is undoubtedly setting new benchmarks for electric vehicles. Even though it was auctioned for a lower price than some other electric vehicles, its significantly higher bid compared to its proposed consumer price showcases the high market demand for such innovative automobiles, ultimately underlining Tesla’s impact in the continually evolving automotive industry.
