Tesla’s Cybertruck is finally here. Will it boost the EV maker’s stock?

Tesla shares were up 0.6% in premarket trading Thursday.

Sales of the futuristic-looking electric pickup truck have been delayed by a few years, and reach as Musk has sought to temper expectations about the production pace, warning there would be “challenges” to reaching production at scale.

That hasn’t stopped Wall Street from calling for a “halo” effect from the Cybertruck’s sales to other Tesla vehicles.

“We believe the rollout of [Tesla’s] most highly anticipated vehicle will boost sales of the 3/Y and see the launch event as a potential catalyst for [Tesla’s] entire lineup,” Ben Kallo, an analyst at Baird, said in a recent note.

Others, however, have been more cautious given the vehicle’s not-for-everyone looks — and price.

“Our expectations are that Cybertruck volumes will [be] worthy of a niche product at first, as electric vehicles still have limited appeal,” Cox Automotive analysts said in a recent note, recalling their survey in August that found the Cybertruck “doesn’t appear to be what pickup-truck buyers are looking for.”

The Cybertruck has drawn more than 1 million reservations since its unveiling in November 2019, when a evaluate of its “armor glass” went memorably awry — with two windows badly cracked after a steel ball was thrown at them.

At the 2019 unveiling, Tesla said the truck’s price would start around $39,900 for a single-motor version with a battery range of about 250 miles, and go all the way up to $69,900 for a tri-motor version with a range of 500 miles. Prices are expected to be considerably higher, however, due to inflation and the rising cost of raw materials.

Meanwhile, Tesla’s stock has gained more than 4% this week, handily beating the S&P 500 index
SPX.
That outperformance holds for the year to date as well, with Tesla shares doubling in comparison with a 19% advance for the broader index.