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(Tesla)

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An early Cybertruck is one of the key items up for grabs at the Gala on Oct. 7 in Los Angeles.

“Be one of the first to own a Tesla Cybertruck!” reads an email about the gala auction preview. “This is for low-vin Cybertruck. The Cybertruck is built with an exterior shell made for ultimate durability and passenger protection.” A VIN is a vehicle identification number, and a low-VIN means it will be one of the first ones made.

Limited tickets for the gala, which is held at the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, are still available and start at $1,750. The Cybertruck auction will begin online and close in person, according to a spokesperson for the museum. The Petersen currently has an exhibit about Tesla that is open through April of next year.

The museum is buying a Cybertruck from Tesla for the auction. It’s unclear where the museum will fall in the delivery schedule to be able to deliver a low-vin model. Proceeds from the auction benefit the museum’s programs.

CEO and Tesla designer famously unveiled the Cybertruck in November 2019. The angular vehicle has been spotted in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area, but Tesla has yet to announce pricing, specs or when the official “handover” event to early customers will be.

Now this is a big, BIG deal — Jay Leno's Garage (@LenosGarage)

Comedian Jay Leno, a car aficionado who recently dedicated an episode of to Tesla’s Semi Truck, is the host of this year’s Petersen gala.

Tesla currently makes the Model S, X, 3 and Y, and anticipation for the Cybertruck is high. Volume production is still far off. Tesla is donating the early Cybertruck to the Petersen; proceeds from the auction benefit the museum’s programs.

“I do want to emphasize that the Cybertruck has a lot of new technology in it, like a lot. It doesn’t look like any other vehicle because it is not like any other vehicle,” said Musk on Tesla’s earnings call in July, as he warned about the challenges of ramping up production of a new vehicle. “Always very difficult to predict the ramp initially, but I think we’re making them in high volume next year and we will be delivering the car this year.”

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