Elon Musk unveiled the Cybertruck last week to divided opinions.

Tesla’s launch was much more successful than Ford’s latest electric car attempt, Google search trends reveals.

Pre-orders massively outpace Volkswagen’s latest electric car orders.

Elon Musk launched the Tesla Cybertruck last week and sent the internet into a feeding frenzy. But it’s more than just a gimmick. It’s proof that Tesla is lightyears ahead of Ford, Volkswagen and every traditional car company.

Cybertruck excitement crushes Ford’s electric Mustang

Don’t believe me? Check out the Google search volume when Ford launched its ‘Tesla-killer’ – the all-electric Mustang Mach-E compared to the Cybertruck.

Ford’s most ambitious new product in decades was met with crickets compared to Tesla’s latest offering. As Ark Invest’s Tasha Keeney put it:

“According to Google search volume, while Tesla did smash a couple of windows, it still piqued more buyer interest than did Ford’s Mach E on the day of its launch event last week.” – Tasha Keeney.

You might say that Google searches aren’t a particularly accurate view of demand. But Ark dug deeper and found the vast majority of search volume came from the exact customers Musk is targeting. It worked.

Well @elonmusk certainly got everyone's attention Announcement day cybertruck search volume seems to be on par with announcement day Model 3 search volume. And the searches seem to be coming from the customers that they're targeting… pic.twitter.com/o0SuqutoG5 — Brett Winton (@wintonARK) November 22, 2019

200,000 Tesla Cybertruck pre-orders crush Volkswagen numbers

Musk has already booked 200,000 pre-orders for the Cybertruck over the weekend, amounting to $20 million in deposits. Compare that to the paltry 35,000 pre-orders for Volkswagen’s newest electric effort, the ID3.

In fairness, this isn’t a complete comparison as the Cybertruck deposit is just $100 compared to Volkswagen’s $1,000. As another CCN.com writer put it:

There have been zero Cybertruck “orders.” Nobody has purchased a Cybertruck, which, when fully loaded, can cost upwards of $80,000. There have been 146k “orders” of queue passes. Those cost $100 each and they’re refundable. On top of that, the people who placed deposits still have almost two years to change their minds before the truck is actually released in 2021.

A better comparison is the Tesla Model 3 which secured 325,000 pre-orders at $1,000 in a matter of days – almost ten-times Volkswagen’s latest pre-order numbers.

Whether it’s viral interest or hard pre-orders, demand for new Tesla models destroys anything put out by traditional car companies.

Nobody *expects* the Cybertruck pic.twitter.com/khhYNFaVKs — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 22, 2019

Why Tesla is lightyears ahead of traditional carmakers

Tesla is the Apple of the car world. It changed the auto industry in the same way that Apple changed computers and electronic devices. From the moment Apple launched the iPhone, every other hardware company was playing catchup.

The same thing is true of Tesla. Tesla changed the entire narrative and forced Ford, Volkswagen, and BMW to follow its lead. Every electric car released from now on is compared to Tesla. Tesla is the benchmark.

Elon Musk also understands marketing better than any of his rivals. The Cybertruck is pure marketing. It would be a success even if it never actually sold a single Cybertruck.

What it did was remind everyone that Tesla is the most innovative and boundary-pushing company in the car industry. It strengthened Tesla’s loyal customers and generated free viral publicity without spending a penny.

Game over. Tesla is the leading car company on the planet. Everyone else is just trying to compete.