The electric pickup truck market is as wide-open as the Wild West. We have seen countless hopeful prototypes pioneering this new segment. Some claim to be made of bulletproof space metal. Others will be able to drive sideways or spin on a dime. But as this rodeo wears on, more of the entrants have revealed themself to be clowns than true American cowboys.

These are six electric pickup trucks that were once promised to be available in 2021. Read on to discover which ones you might actually spot riding this year's roads.

Related: Jeep Wrangler 4xe Rated At 49 MPG Equivalent

The Nikola Badger (Never)

Nikola Badger rear view
Via: nikola.com

The Nikola Badger has the distinction of being the only hybrid on this list: the electric battery and hydrogen fuel-cell-powered truck boasts an incredible 600-mile range. Nikola first paraded around a tractor-trailer truck that leveraged its electric and hydrogen technology. More recently, the company launched the Badger pickup prototype. General Motors stepped in with a promise to manufacture the Badger, and it appeared that an electric future was arriving faster than expected.

Then A Wallstreet research firm, Hindenburg, did some digging and announced that Nikola founder Trevor Milton had been lying to the public and the tractor-trailer prototype was not even drivable. General Motors withdrew its support. Nikola fired its Milton, launched an internal investigation, and began offering refunds for its pickup truck preorders. The Badger met its death before it left the gate.

The Lordstown Endurance (No Way)

Lordstown Endurance quarter front
Via Lordstown Motors

Steve Burns has been pouring research and development dollars into an electric truck for years--first as CEO of Workhorse Group and later as the founder of Lordstown Motors. The six production deadlines he has promised and missed should have been enough of a red flag. But when General Motors loaned him $50 million and their Lordstown, Ohio plant, many electric pickup hopefuls pointed out he had one of the only startups with extensive production capabilities.

Lordstown's head of powertrain finally took the first prototype for a test drive on January 13th, 2021, and the truck burst into flames (the lucky engineer escaped the fire without injury). Despite the mishap, Burns clung to his promise of delivering three-thousand trucks between September and December of the same year. Then Hindenburg Research released its Lordstown report, with serious allegations of fraud. The report featured recent employees claiming the truck was beset by issues because Burns still has no reliable way to produce batteries in-house, chose an absurdly cheap hub motor assembled in Slovenia and China, and only recently settled on the material the truck would be built from (aluminum instead of the prototype's plastic). In March 2021, this anonymous ex-employee estimated that the Endurance remains three to four years from production.

The Bollinger B2 (Nope)

Bollinger B2 on a dirt trail
Via moneyinc.com

Bollinger (the EV company founded in 2014, not the Champagne company founded in 1829)  has suffered numerous delays and setbacks. Company founder, Robert Bollinger, introduced his B1 SUV in 2017. It was a square-sided retro truck that reminded many of the Defender. The B2 pickup followed soon after. The company insisted they were designing no-frills work vehicles. But the glass roof, four bucket-seat configuration, and six-figure price tag of the B2 render it much more akin to a Defender than a Silverado.

Despite the usual EV startup company setbacks and additional Covid-era struggles, Robert Bollinger has insisted he will begin deliveries sometime in 2021. Bollinger is at a distinct disadvantage in this race as it has yet to secure or fine-tune manufacturing for its prototype. Finally, in March 2020, Bollinger made three announcements: they would offer a cab & chassis B2, they were on the verge of choosing a manufacturing partner, and they would be pushing production into 2o22.

The Tesla Cybertruck (Possibly)

Cybertruck camper back option
via newatlas.com

No electric truck launch caused a bigger stir than Tesla's Cybertruck. The polarizing EV looks like something from a dystopian 1980s SciFi: you either hate it or love it. By February 2020, Tesla reported 535,000 Cybertruck reservations. But the Covid pandemic derailed all of the electric vehicle company's upcoming projects. In his 1st Quarter investor call, Elon Musk insisted he would be delivering "some" Cybertrucks in 2021--while pushing full "scale production" back to 2022. Will he be able to keep this promise?

Tesla's most obvious advantage is that the company has already seen four EVs to market. The company has an established engineering pool and proven production capability. But the process will be slightly different for the Cybertruck, and the offroad beast has several obstacles still to navigate.

Tesla is currently using the world's largest "Giga" press to form the rear frame of its Model X as a single component. Manufacturing the Cybertruck will require installing and perfecting an even larger press. Musk told his investors he had ordered the machinery, but whether the unprecedented process will dictate any design modification remains to be seen.

Musk claims the truck's final design is "fixed." But the design has yet to pass crash tests and does not appear to take pedestrian safety into consideration. The angular, unyielding design of the prototype would be especially dangerous to pedestrians and won't get certified in Europe.

Whenever the Cybertruck goes into production, filling the half-million preorders may take years. You can expect to see this futuristic monster truck on the road a long time before you can buy your own.

RELATED: Here's When Tesla's Cybertruck Will Be Available (And Why It's Worth The Wait)

The Hummer SUT (Likely)

GMC-Hummer-EV
via motor1

General Motors continues steadily developing the Ultium motor and battery technology that will be the backbone of its EV fleet. In the meantime, the big automaker made waves when it resurrected the Hummer nameplate for an all-electric hypertruck. GM is calling its monstrous vehicle a Sport Utility Truck. The launch edition boasts three engines, 1,000 horsepower, and rear-wheel steering which enables it to drive sideways. GM even retained Lebron James as the celebrity spokesman for this six-figure luxury vehicle. GM continues to refer to the upcoming Hummer EV as a 2022 model that will launch in October 2021, alongside the rest of the company's 2022 lineup. If all goes well, we will see the electric Hummer on the road in 2021. But with a production date so late in 2021, any minor delay will push this GM into 2022.

In March 2021, Autoweek spotted GM taking the Hummer EV out for winter testing in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. GM's videos of the tests specify that they show a "preproduction test vehicle" and add that the "actual production model will vary." How much will the production model vary? Will it be ready ahead of the October launch? GM told Autoweek that upcoming "key tests include integrating its powerful all-wheel-drive torque distribution with the traction control system, as well as calibrating and testing the electronic stability control system." The company makes it sound as if the only changes left are software tweaks; we'll have to wait for the final vehicle to find out.

A major plus for the Hummer's ambitious timeline is that the truck is built on General Motor's Ultium electric vehicle platform and shares many components with upcoming EVs (such as the electric Hummer SUV). Any design hiccups that arise between now and launch will be solved by the combined engineering might of one of the world's largest auto manufacturers. Will the launch-edition Hummer EVs be relegated to dealership showrooms and private collections through the end of 2021? We hope not; the electric Hummer is one of the only trucks we might actually spot on the highway this year.

RELATED: GMC Hummer EV Pickup Spotted Testing In The Wild

The Rivian R1T (Probably)

Rivian R1T

Rivian has been quietly testing and tweaking its complete R1T truck for years. For the first couple of years of trail tests, the company hung pretend tailpipes off its prototypes to avoid extra attention. In this year's "Long Way Up" TV show, two R1Ts successfully accompany Ewan McGregor's offroad motorcycle adventure from the tip of South America up to the U.S. Rivian claims it will be fulfilling its first preorders in June of 2021.

One red flag for this projected delivery date is Rivian's recently winning Amazon's electric delivery van partnership. But whether the huge fleet contract will distract from the R1T's production schedule remains to be seen. In addition, Rivian has yet to release its official National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash-test results. But at this rate, any deviation from the projected Spring 2021 delivery might be a standard, quarantine-era delay, not a company-wide meltdown. The R1T is a truck we can confidently say you'll see on U.S. roads by year's end.

NEXT: This Is What Makes The Rivian R1T One Of The Best Electric Trucks Of 2021