Photo: Tesla/Twitter
Tesla recently increased the prices for the Model 3 and Model Y in the U.S. by up to $2,000. That made the lowest prices listed on the website be those for the Cybertruck: $39,990 against $41,990 for the most affordable Model 3. That led to some claiming the Cybertruck was the cheapest Tesla for sale, which was not right: you can’t sell what you can’t deliver. Tesla solved this misconception in an unusual way: it removed the Cybetruck prices from its website.
The news was first shared by Tesla Owners Online on Twitter. The post remembers Tesla said the Cybertruck would start at $39,990 for its RWD version, $49,990 for the AWD derivative, and $69,990 for the Tri-Motor units. According to the tweets, customers that made reservations for the electric pickup truck can no longer change the configurations of the vehicles they pre-ordered.
The move reflects two serious situations with the Cybertruck. The first is that it depends on the 4680 cells to get into production. Elon Musk already said they will only be ready by April 2022 in the best-case scenario or by October 2022 in the worst. It is not wise to set prices for a vehicle one year away from starting to produce them, especially in an environment in which supply shortages are making prices increase.
If you think it through, it was not wise to announce them since the beginning. The Cybertruck was revealed on November 21, 2019, almost two years ago. When it was presented, Tesla still had not revealed the 4680 cells, which would happen only on September 22, 2020 – nearly one year later. It makes us wonder if the company already planned to give the 4680 cells to the pickup truck or if it decided that would be the case later, which takes us to the second aspect of the Cybertruck that is worth considering.
If Tesla decided it would use the 4680 cells on the pickup truck after establishing its prices, why hasn’t it revised these values with the change? If Tesla was already planning to use the 4680 cells before revealing them, how did it realistically established the Cybertruck prices before it knew how much it would cost to produce these cells? That’s something the company will only learn when it has solved all the issues involved with making these batteries.
Whatever the answers to these questions are, they show that Tesla’s product planning has serious issues to solve. We have never heard of a car manufacturer that decided to announce and develop a vehicle based on a fundamental component yet to be produced. Tesla fans are already getting used to the idea that the Cybertruck will cost way more than the company said it would – and that is pretty wise on their part.
The move reflects two serious situations with the Cybertruck. The first is that it depends on the 4680 cells to get into production. Elon Musk already said they will only be ready by April 2022 in the best-case scenario or by October 2022 in the worst. It is not wise to set prices for a vehicle one year away from starting to produce them, especially in an environment in which supply shortages are making prices increase.
If you think it through, it was not wise to announce them since the beginning. The Cybertruck was revealed on November 21, 2019, almost two years ago. When it was presented, Tesla still had not revealed the 4680 cells, which would happen only on September 22, 2020 – nearly one year later. It makes us wonder if the company already planned to give the 4680 cells to the pickup truck or if it decided that would be the case later, which takes us to the second aspect of the Cybertruck that is worth considering.
If Tesla decided it would use the 4680 cells on the pickup truck after establishing its prices, why hasn’t it revised these values with the change? If Tesla was already planning to use the 4680 cells before revealing them, how did it realistically established the Cybertruck prices before it knew how much it would cost to produce these cells? That’s something the company will only learn when it has solved all the issues involved with making these batteries.
Whatever the answers to these questions are, they show that Tesla’s product planning has serious issues to solve. We have never heard of a car manufacturer that decided to announce and develop a vehicle based on a fundamental component yet to be produced. Tesla fans are already getting used to the idea that the Cybertruck will cost way more than the company said it would – and that is pretty wise on their part.
Tesla is no longer showing prices of the Cybertruck on the order page
— ??Tesla Owners Online (@Model3Owners) October 15, 2021
For reference they were:
RWD: $39,990
AWD: $49,990
Trimotor: $69,990 pic.twitter.com/46sKp7JbPu
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