The long-awaited Tesla Cybertruck will not begin mass production until 2023, as promised. We’ve seen reports of recent progress on the much delayed truck. But Tesla TSLA,
CEO Elon Musk recently told investors that a handful of Cybertrucks could roll off production lines this summer, but mass production won’t begin until 2024.
Tesla doesn’t answer reporters’ questions, so Musk’s quarterly investor calls are often the best way to learn about Tesla’s plans. The announcement came during Musk’s fourth-quarter investor discussion.
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What is Tesla Cybertruck?
The Tesla Cybertruck is a long-promised electric pickup truck that is unlike any truck on the market or any truck that will ever be produced. It looks like something out of a 1980s science fiction artist’s illustration of the future.
Musk has said that the Pentagon, a squat Pentagon of Brutalist lines and bare, unpainted sheet metal, takes its inspiration from the movie “Blade Runner”. Tesla promises impressive truck performance, including a towing capacity of up to 14,000 pounds.
Tesla plans to sell the truck in one-, two- and three-motor versions, the last of which can get from 0-60 mph in under 3 seconds.
Workers at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, were recently seen setting up the massive new casting machine that Musk confirmed will be used for Cybertruck production.
Tesla
Musk initially promised a starting price of under $40,000, but after several years of inflation and supply chain problems, he has since said that is out of reach. Tesla is hardly alone in this – the Ford F,
Launched its own F-150 Lightning electric pickup with a price tag under $40,000, but quickly raised the price to over $50,000.
Nevertheless, Tesla claimed that more than one million people deposited $100 to get in line for the truck.
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Coming in 2021; no, 2022; no, 2023; No…
This latest production target is at least the fourth date that Musk has promised.
When Musk announced the Cybertruck in 2019, he promised it would be in production within two years. He later delayed it to 2022. Then it was delayed again to 2023.
This latest announcement means the first trucks could leave the factory doors this summer. But Musk cautioned investors, “I always tend to underestimate the start of production. It ramps up, but it’s very slow in the beginning.” The first examples of a new car rarely reach customers, they are used for testing and marketing purposes and are loaned out to journalists for evaluation.
Tesla forges its own path and doesn’t always follow industry conventions, so it’s always possible the company could have something to deliver in 2023. But Musk told investors that volume production to fill orders would begin in 2024.
Still, there are reasons to believe that Cybertruck is more real today than it was a year ago. Workers at Tesla’s Austin, Texas, Gigafactory were recently seen setting up the massive new casting machine. Musk confirmed on the call that they intended for Cybertruck production.
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held a late party
When Tesla first announced the Cybertruck, no other automaker had publicly discussed building an electric pickup. But you may have noticed that, above, we already mentioned Ford electric trucks in customer parking spots.
Ford’s F-150 Lightning is hardly alone. GMC already sells its Hummer EV. Startup Rivian RIVN,
has delivered hundreds of R1T pickups to customers. Startup Lordstown Motors Ride,
has commenced customer deliveries of its Endurance Truck.
General Motors GM,
has announced both the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV could reach production before the Cybertruck, pushing Tesla’s debut up to seventh. Ram’s 1500 Kranti – which seats six and can follow its owner like a dog – is likely to follow closely behind.
This story originally ran kbb.com,
Credit: www.marketwatch.com /