Attendees of the event at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles could bid on the low-VIN all-electric pickup.
Reports suggest a low-VIN Tesla Cybertruck was auctioned for $400,000 at the 29th Petersen Gala, at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, CA, hosted Oct. 7 by automotive legend Jay Leno.
Gala attendees were allowed to bid for the vehicle. It was speculated the Cybertruck could fetch a high price, considering the fact a seat at the event cost $1,750.
As could be seen in a short video shared on social media by Cybertruck enthusiast @greggerruck, the bidding for the all-electric pickup truck was interesting, as one of the attendees seemingly had their paddle “ripped” out of their hands. The Cybertruck was reportedly sold for $400,000, several times the vehicle’s consumer price.
It should be noted the winning bid is quite a bit lower than those for other electric vehicles. The GMC Hummer EV pickup truck’s VIN 001 unit sold for $2.5 million, and its sister vehicle, the GMC Hummer EV SUV, also sold its VIN 001 unit for $500,000. Both vehicles were auctioned for charity.
It appears the Cybertruck auctioned was not necessarily VIN 001. Tesla only described the vehicle as a “low-VIN” unit. It still remains to be seen who will be driving the Cybertruck’s VIN 001 unit, though CEO Elon Musk is known to have kept some of Tesla’s VIN 001 vehicles in the past, including the original Tesla Roadster, which Musk personally drove.
Abby Andrews