Reuters Videos
Tesla plans mass production start for Cybertruck -sources
STORY: Reuters reported exclusively on Tuesday that Tesla aims to start mass production of its Cybertruck at the end of 2023, two years after the initial target for the long-awaited pickup.That’s according to two people with knowledge of the plans.CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019 when the vehicle’s designer cracked the vehicle’s supposedly unbreakable “armor glass” windows.Since then, Tesla has pushed back production three times.But Musk – who is now the CEO of five different companies after his acquisition of Twitter – told a conference call with analysts last month: “We’re in the final lap for Cybertruck.” Tesla said it was working on readying its Austin, Texas plant to build the sharp-angled electric truck with “early production” set to start in the middle of 2023.A gradual ramp in the second half of next year to full output for the Cybertruck would mean that Tesla would not be recording revenue until early 2024 for a full-quarter of production on a new model seen as key to its growth, as the pickup gives Tesla an EV entrant in one of the most profitable segments of the U.S. market, competing with electric pickups from the likes of Ford and Rivian Automotive.It would also mean a wait of another year for the estimated hundreds of thousands of potential buyers who have paid $100 to reserve a Cybertruck in one of the most highly anticipated, and closely tracked electric vehicle launches ever. Tesla has not announced final pricing on the Cybertruck. In 2019, it projected an initial price of under $40,000, but prices for new vehicles have shot higher since then and Tesla has raised prices across its lineup. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
