Tesla may have recently unveiled its Cybertruck, but the electric pickup wars are just starting up. Nikola Motors is a relatively new automaker that’s aiming to make electric cars and trucks just like Tesla is doing. However, Nikola’s electric pickup truck, the Badger, has something that Teslas don’t have, and it’s now available for pre-order.

What the Nikola Badger can do

As Car and Driver wrote, the Badger is an electric pickup truck that’s coming soon. But unlike other electric pickups, the Badger will have two options. The first is a battery-electric option, and the other is a hydrogen fuel-cell option. The standard battery-electric option starts at $60,000, whereas the hydrogen option starts at $80,000.

Hydrogen fuel-cell electric cars aren’t new, but the Badger aims to be one of the very few mass-produced hydrogen fuel-cell powered cars on the roads. Hydrogen fuel-cells have advantages and disadvantages compared to battery-powered cars, but one of them is range. Car and Driver said that the battery option gets 300 miles, while the hydrogen option gets 600 miles.

That said, since the Badger is an electric truck either way, and it has many of the same advantages that the Cybertruck has. For example, its motors give it over 900 hp and almost 1,000 lb-ft of torque. This allows it to accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in under 3 seconds. Furthermore, the Badger will have a lot of premium extras, such as waterproof displays, a fridge, and even a drinking fountain. However, the Badger can only tow about 8,000-pounds, which isn’t especially impressive.

When will the Nikola Badger arrive?

Unlike the Tesla Cybertruck however, the Nikola Badger won’t arrive for a while. Car and Driver wrote that Nikola will unveil the truck on December 4th, 2020. Nikola will unveil the Badger during its Nikola World event, but since the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing, it’s not clear if this date is set in stone or not.

In any case, on that date, Nikola will also be announcing a partnership with a mystery automaker. Car and Driver said that Nikola will be teaming up with that automaker to produce these trucks. As for when to expect Nikola to start delivering the Badger, Car and Driver wrote that production won’t begin until 2022. 

Like the Cybertruck and other Teslas, Nikola is now accepting pre-orders for the Badger. Anyone who’s interested in buying the truck has several options for pre-ordering it. On top of that, Nikola also has special offers for these pre-orders.

What you get from pre-ordering

Car and Driver reported that Nikola is offering three tiers for pre-orders. The tiers are at different price points, and the higher price points will give more benefits. However, Nikola will be matching the deposit for all tiers. This means that no matter which package you choose, Nikola will multiply what you paid by two, and that’s the discount you’ll get when the Badger finally arrives.

The first tier is the Instinct Package, and it costs $250. The second tier is the Predator Package, and it costs $1,000. The third tier is the Honey Package, and it costs $5,000. The Honey Package is the best package, but Nikola is only offering a limited amount of them. By getting the Honey Package, future Badger owners will ultimately save $5,000 off of their truck.

On top of this, Nikola will be doing a raffle, and each pre-order tier will give customers a chance to win a free Badger. The Instinct Package will only give you one ticket for the raffle, but the Predator Package will give you five tickets, and the Honey Package will give you 25 tickets.