DETROIT — With manufacturing kinks still to be worked out, Tesla delivered the first dozen or so of its futuristic Cybertruck pickups to customers Thursday, two years behind the original schedule amid uncertainty over when large-scale production will begin.

CEO Elon Musk showed off the angular electric trucks with an event at the company’s factory outside of Austin, Texas.

The ceremony started with Musk driving the truck on a stage in darkness and hopping into the bed to talk about it.

“It’s the most unique thing on the road,” he said. “Finally, the future will look like the future.”

The pickup is aimed at the most profitable part of the U.S. auto market that’s now controlled mainly by Ford, General Motors and Ram truck maker Stellantis. But since Musk unveiled it four years ago, all three Detroit automakers have shown electric trucks of their own. Ford and GM and upstart Rivian already have trucks on sale, and the electric Ram is due out early next year.

Ford’s F-Series pickups are the top-selling vehicles in the nation, followed by GM’s Chevrolet Silverado and Stellantis Ram pickup. Combined, the Detroit automakers sold nearly 1.7 million big pickups through October at prices that can reach more than $100,000 per vehicle.

First displayed publicly in 2019, the Cybertruck has suffered from production problems stemming from its odd design and the choice of stainless steel rather than the lighter steel or aluminum typically used in cars and trucks.

Musk said the Cybertruck’s body is made of a stainless steel alloy developed by Tesla. The body panels had to be angular because they can’t be stamped by a conventional press, he said. Stainless steel, he said, has no corrosion and doesn’t need paint, but can still be mass produced.

The truck, he said, has 17 inches of ground clearance to drive off the road, and it can go from zero to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds. It has four-wheel steering, with steering effort that changes based on the truck’s speed. It can carry more than 1 ton in its bed and tow over 11,000 pounds, Musk told the crowd.

Musk showed videos of the truck beating a Porsche 911 in the quarter-mile, while the Cybertruck was towing another Porsche on a trailer. Another video showed it out-towing a Ford Super Duty pickup.

When Musk unveiled the truck four years ago, he said production would start in 2021.

But on the company’s earnings conference call in October, Musk lamented how hard it has been to produce the innovative truck with a body made of hard-to-bend stainless steel.

“We dug our own grave with Cybertruck,” said Musk, who added that he didn’t think the company would reach its production target of 250,000 per year until 2025.

On its website, Tesla said the a rear-wheel-drive version of the truck would start at $60,990. The top-line “Cyberbeast” would start at $99,990. Reservations can be made with a refundable $250 deposit. The trucks have a single charge estimated range of 250 to 340 miles.