A new report from Reuters says Tesla is aiming to begin full Cybertruck mass production by the end of next year. For realsies this time, or so it says. This would only be two years after the initial mass production target was announced by CEO Elon Musk. That easily beats out vehicles like the Semi and new Roadster.
That being said, words are cheap when it comes to Tesla production targets, so we’ll remain sceptical until Cybertrucks actually start rolling off the assembly line in Austin, Texas.
“We’re in the final lap for Cybertruck,” Musk told financial analysts in a conference call.
According to Reuters, a gradual ramp-up in the second half of 2023 will culminate in full output by the end of that year. That would mean the company wouldn’t make any money off the long-awaited Cybertruck until the beginning of 2024 at the earliest.
There’s still no word on exactly how much the Cybertruck will cost people who put down a $US100 ($139) deposit years ago, but it’s a safe bet that it’ll be well over the initial $US40,000 ($55,528) Musk projected it to be.
Reuters reports production of the Cybertruck has now been pushed back three separate times. It was initially supposed to start in late 2022, but it was then moved to late 2022, then early 2023, and now it’s looking like mid-2023 to start initial production. Could three be the magic number? I suppose we will find out.
In January, Musk had cited shortages in sourcing components as the reason for pushing the launch of Cybertruck into 2023.
In May, Tesla stopped taking orders for the Cybertruck outside North America. Musk said then the company had “more orders of the first Cybertrucks than we could possibly fulfil for three years after the start of production.”
Reuters says that some analysts are warning that a weakening global economy could start to have a negative impact on Tesla sales. Musk himself has said a coming recession will last until the Spring of 2024.
That’s not the only battle the Cybertruck will face. It now has much stronger competition than it would have a couple of years ago. By the time it hits production at the end of next year, the Cybertruck will have to face off against the Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Hummer EV, Rivian R1T, and the upcoming GMC Sierra EV.
Who knows what sort of competition the Cybertruck will face when production is inevitably delayed past the end of 2023?