Don’t want to spend $80k on a Tesla Cybertruck? Try this one for $225 then

After this week’s Cybertruck delivery event, there’s been a lot of talk about disappointment on pricing, with the introductory model costing $80k as compared to the originally-promised $40k. But now there’s a way you can get one for just $225… sort of.

Back in 2019 when the Cybertruck was unveiled, Tesla said that the cheapest model would be available first and cost $39,900. But after Thursday’s delivery event, we now know that the $61k cheapest model won’t be out until 2025, and the first-available model starts at $80k.

But there’s now a way to own Cybertruck’s polarizing design for a lot cheaper – and this one fits on your shelf too.

Tesla has released a 1:18 scale diecast model of the Cybertruck for $225 which it says is based off “the same 3D CAD data used to manufacture the actual Cybertruck vehicle” and “every detail, curve and surface” has been replicated (though we’re still looking for any “curves” on the truck’s surface…).

It has posted a number of photos on its website, and the details look quite cool.

Here are the details, according to Tesla:

THE 1:18 SCALE CYBERTRUCK DIECAST WAS SPECIALLY DESIGNED BY THE TESLA DESIGN STUDIO. EVERY DETAIL, CURVE AND SURFACE IS REPLICATED FROM THE SAME 3D CAD DATA USED TO MANUFACTURE ACTUAL CYBERTRUCK VEHICLES.

INCLUDES:

• 180+ METAL AND PLASTIC PARTS
• DETAILED INTERIOR, INCLUDING A MAP OF CYBERTRUCK’S HOME BASE DISPLAYED ON THE TOUCHSCREEN
• FUNCTIONING DOORS AND MAGNETIC REAR LIFT GATE
• REMOVABLE TONNEAU COVER
• PANORAMIC GLASS ROOF
• RUBBER TIRES
• STEERABLE WHEELS
• CARPETED INTERIOR
• FABRIC SEAT BELTS WITH BUCKLE DETAILS
• DIMENSIONS: 328MM LONG X 125MM WIDE X 103MM HIGH
• WEIGHT: 3.348 LBS (1.519KG)

By “Cybertruck’s home base,” Tesla means that the tiny screen shows a map of Austin, Texas, site of Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas where the Cybertruck is being built.

But looking closer, you can see that the model isn’t based off the production Cybertruck, but rather the prototype. For example, the bed liner is metal, rather than the rubberized surface on the production vehicle. And the steering wheel is a yoke rather than the “squircle” design on the production trucks.

This also means that the 1:18 scale seems to be based on the prototype model, which has been reported as being 5% bigger in all dimensions than the production model. Tesla lists the diecast model’s dimensions as 328mm long. Multiply that by 18 and you get 5,904, then compare that to the actual 5,682mm length of the production Cybertruck. So it’s more like a 17.3:1-scale compared to the production model.

Tesla has launched other diecasts before, for almost all of its models. It recently introduced a Model Y for $195, and there are also diecasts of the Model 3 (which started at $250, but seems to have been affected by Tesla’s price drops and is now available for the low low price of $175), and even the low-production Tesla Semi (though even the diecast model is out of stock…) and constantly-delayed Tesla Roadster, also at $175. The Model S and X are nowhere to be found on the US shop, but overseas they seem to still be available for the even lower price of £86 (about $105).

These prices make the Cybertruck the most expensive diecast model that Tesla currently sells, though not the most expensive ever, as the Model 3 launched at $250.

And unlike the other diecasts Tesla sells, the Cybertruck diecast only comes in one color – nothing. The full-size Cybertruck also doesn’t come in multiple paint colors, but you can change that with a $6,500 wrap.