(New York) American automaker Tesla announced on Saturday that the first copy of its Cybertruck electric pickup truck had rolled off the production line at its mega-factory in Texas, in the southern United States.

“First Cybertruck built in Giga Texas,” the company tweeted, posting a photo showing the vehicle surrounded by dozens of people wearing yellow safety vests and hard hats in what appears to be a hangar.

Tesla and Twitter boss Elon Musk reposted the post with the caption: “Congrats Tesla Team.”

Asked by AFP, the company was not immediately available on Saturday.

In April, the automaker said production of the pickup was “on track” to begin, as planned, later this year at its new plant in Texas.

The machine with a futuristic silhouette, a kind of metal shell with rather unusual angular lines, was unveiled in November 2019.

His presentation caused a sensation when a collaborator, wanting to praise the foolproof solidity of the machine, had broken through an armored window by throwing a steel hammer at it, snatching an oath from Elon Musk. A second attempt had damaged another pane.

Two days after the vehicle’s big show, Tesla said it had received nearly 150,000 pre-orders that required – and still require – a refundable down payment of only C$150.

In May, Elon Musk had indicated that the objective was to manufacture 250,000 per year, stressing that this figure could double, because its price makes it accessible.

When it was launched, the Cybertruck – which can go from 0 to 100 km/h in less than three seconds, according to the Tesla site – was to be available in three versions with a range of between 400 km and 800 km.