Was the Badger Ever Legitimate Competition for the Cybertruck?

Alex Reale
· 4 min read
Nikola Motors, once a promising player in electric vehicles (EVs), is now more of a cautionary tale than Silicon Valley exemplar. The brash startup, founded in 2014, had been raking in millions with its promise of an electric pickup truck called the Badger. They even got GM to ride shotgun for a while.
But dreams of the Badger disappeared with the publishing of a damning report by Hindenburg Research in September of 2020, which eviscerated the company for its apparently false claims. As the dust settles, Nikola is pivoting to work on other projects, but it’s worth considering—how would the Badger have stacked up against Tesla’s Cybertruck?
The Badger could’ve been a strong competitor against the Cybertruck if it came to market.

History of the Nikola Badger

Hindenburg Research claims that Nikola founder Trevor Milton misled investors with fraudulent claims about the Badger’s capabilities, but let’s suspend disbelief for the moment to examine what the electric pickup was made to do.
The Badger had quite an impressive spec sheet, according to
HotCars
. It was expected to generate a constant 455 horsepower, with a top output of 906 horsepower. The fastest Badger could go from 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, which is faster than some sports cars.
The Badger also claimed to have an impressive towing capacity of 18,000 pounds, which would not be deterred by grades as steep as 40%. And the range on a single battery charge was expected to be 300 miles. You’d be able to enjoy the ride from a beautiful cabin that may or may not have a hidden refrigerator in it. It all sounds too good to be true.
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What do we know so far about the Tesla Cybertruck?

Let’s park the Badger for a second and take a look at the Cybertruck. Though the Cybertruck has not suffered a Hindenburg disaster, it has had its share of hiccups. In one demo, a Tesla designer attempted to show that the Cybertruck’s glass was unbreakable, only to throw a steel ball at it and watch cracks immediately appear. And of course, there were multiple delays, which has disappointed many consumers.
But the waiting may be worth it. The electric Cybertruck claims 500 miles of range, 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, and a towing capacity of over 14,000 pounds. We’ll see whether it lives up to its claims of being bulletproof when it’s released. And of course, the biggest advantage it has over the Badger is that it actually exists, and until proven otherwise, we can expect to see this boxy behemoth in late 2022.

Badger vs. Cybertruck

MORE: Tesla May Be Delaying the Cybertruck, but Jay Leno Already Took a Spin
Head to head on paper, the Badger beats the Cybertruck on towing capacity, loses on battery range, and ties for acceleration. Luckily for Tesla fans, this thought experiment ends on paper, with the Badger dead on arrival and the Cybertruck still incubating.
Perhaps Nikola Motors’s first mistake was taking the first name of Tesla’s inspiration, legendary inventor Nikola Tesla. Then again, in the cutthroat world of electric cars, sometimes you have to fly a little too close to the sun.
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