Photo: @WholeMarsBlog via Twitter
Tesla organized a large shareholder gathering at Giga Texas named “Cyber Roundup,” so the Cybertruck was obviously at the heart of the discussions. During his speech in front of Tesla stockholders, Elon Musk delivered good news and bad news about the future electric truck.
The Cybertruck was announced three years ago with an out-of-this-world design and specifications. Prototypes of the outlandish pickup truck have been presented at various Tesla events since then. Still, the final product is yet to materialize. As more competitors brought electric pickups to market, Tesla slightly changed the design and specifications, so the Cybertruck could stay in the game. This further pushed back the release date, although we’ve seen indications that the truck will finally get into production soon.
Speaking in front of the stockholder audience, Musk confirmed that Tesla “will be installing the production equipment, the tooling and all in the next couple of months.” He also confirmed that Cybertruck production is on track for mid-2023, as promised earlier this year. This is despite the fact that the Cybertruck has significantly changed, especially in the past year. Musk had less pleasant news for those waiting in line to buy the truck.
“Cybertruck pricing, it was unveiled in 2019, and the reservation was $99,” said Elon Musk. “A lot has changed since then, so the specs and the pricing will be different. I hate to give sort of a little bit of bad news. But I think there’s no way to sort of anticipate the inflation that we’ve seen and the various issues. But what I can say is that the Cybertruck will be one helluva product. It’s going to be like a damn fine machine.”
We kind of knew that the Cybertruck could not sell for the $39,900 base price announced three years ago. Tesla has raised the prices of its entire lineup, so we are probably looking at something above $50,000. The specifications should’ve also improved with the new battery and electric drive tech advances.
The main thing holding back Cybertruck’s development was the delay in mass producing the new 4680 battery cells. Elon Musk is optimistic about reaching a high production rate by the end of this year. Although the existing cell supply is enough for this year’s production, the Cybertruck is a whole new animal swallowing significantly more cells than the Model Y.
We know from the Q2 2022 earnings call that Tesla’s Kato Road facility has been growing its 4680 cell output by 35% month over month. Giga Texas should catch up and even exceed the Kato Road pilot line’s weekly production by the end of this year. With the battery availability sorted out, there’s no excuse for Tesla not starting the Cybertruck production as promised.
Speaking in front of the stockholder audience, Musk confirmed that Tesla “will be installing the production equipment, the tooling and all in the next couple of months.” He also confirmed that Cybertruck production is on track for mid-2023, as promised earlier this year. This is despite the fact that the Cybertruck has significantly changed, especially in the past year. Musk had less pleasant news for those waiting in line to buy the truck.
“Cybertruck pricing, it was unveiled in 2019, and the reservation was $99,” said Elon Musk. “A lot has changed since then, so the specs and the pricing will be different. I hate to give sort of a little bit of bad news. But I think there’s no way to sort of anticipate the inflation that we’ve seen and the various issues. But what I can say is that the Cybertruck will be one helluva product. It’s going to be like a damn fine machine.”
We kind of knew that the Cybertruck could not sell for the $39,900 base price announced three years ago. Tesla has raised the prices of its entire lineup, so we are probably looking at something above $50,000. The specifications should’ve also improved with the new battery and electric drive tech advances.
The main thing holding back Cybertruck’s development was the delay in mass producing the new 4680 battery cells. Elon Musk is optimistic about reaching a high production rate by the end of this year. Although the existing cell supply is enough for this year’s production, the Cybertruck is a whole new animal swallowing significantly more cells than the Model Y.
We know from the Q2 2022 earnings call that Tesla’s Kato Road facility has been growing its 4680 cell output by 35% month over month. Giga Texas should catch up and even exceed the Kato Road pilot line’s weekly production by the end of this year. With the battery availability sorted out, there’s no excuse for Tesla not starting the Cybertruck production as promised.
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