Tesla has now finally confirmed that the Cybertruck electric pickup truck is delayed to 2022 after months of hinting at the possible delay in reaching production.
When Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck back in 2019, Tesla said that the electric pickup truck would make it to market by the end of 2021.
Over the last year, with the timeline coming closer, there have been signs that the Cybertruck could be delayed.
First off, Tesla only recently completed the engineering design of the electric pickup truck.
CEO Elon Musk also warned that Tesla is going to have some challenges in bringing the Cybertruck to production due to features, like the steel exoskeleton body that requires completely new manufacturing processes.
Despite those concerns and the “end of 2021” timeline coming closer, Tesla appeared reticent in confirming that Cybertruck production has been delayed.
During the release of its Q2 2021 financial results last month, Tesla kept the same timeline and only specified that Cybertruck production would start at Gigafactory Texas after Model Y:
“We are also making progress on the industrialization of Cybertruck, which is currently planned for Austin production subsequent to Model Y.“
Model Y production is supposed to start at Gigafactory Texas by the end of the year so it doesn’t eliminate the possibility that Cybertruck production could start this year, but it made the timeline unlikely.
However, a few weeks later, Tesla has confirmed that the Cybertruck has been delayed to 2022.
On the order page, Tesla updated the footnotes to confirm that the configurator will be available when “production nears in 2022”:
The note is the same for all three variants of the Cybertruck despite Tesla previously saying that the two higher-end variants, Dual Motor and Tri-Motor, will come first.
Tesla has no other mention of a timeline for the Cybertruck on its website.
There’s currently a race to bring the first electric pickup to market in the US. Tesla was never seen as the most likely contender to be first to market, but this delay won’t help either.
However, it’s not the only one experiencing delays.
Rivian recently delayed the production of its R1T electric pickup truck from July to September.
Lordstown is also having issues bringing its electric pickup to market. GM is expected to deliver the Hummer EV in the US by the end of the year and Ford is launching the F150 Lighting next year.
While the Cybertruck delay was expected, it will disappoint many as Tesla has reportedly accumulated over 1 million reservations for the Cybertruck.
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Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
