Tesla is reportedly delaying initial production of the Cybertruck until the end of the first quarter of 2023, according to a Thursday evening report from Reuters.
That would mean deliveries—likely to happen in very small numbers at first, given the Cybertruck’s innovative stainless-steel body—would likely not start until spring 2023.
The report, citing “a person familiar with the matter,” suggests that the delay comes at least partly due to a rejiggering of features and functions for the truck.
That wouldn’t be much later than previous reports suggesting a late 2022 production start for the electric truck—around the same time that CEO Elon Musk confirmed the Roadster wouldn’t ship until 2023.
Tesla Cybertruck
That may indeed be due to increased competition from more traditional-looking electric pickups—including Rivian, which had already delivered 920 of its R1T electric pickups by the end of 2021. Ford says that it will start deliveries of the F-150 Lightning in May 2022. Ahead of a production ramp soon, GM made one delivery of the GMC Hummer EV pickup late in 2021, and earlier this month it revealed the 2024 Chevy Silverado EV, set to arrive in spring 2023. Stellantis is also due to roll out a fully electric version of the Ram 1500 pickup in 2024.
Musk has already revealed that there will be some changes—and some of the general details. He tweeted, on December 3, that initial production would be of a four-motor variant, “with independent, ultra fast response torque control of each wheel.”
Tesla Cybertruck live unveiling – November 21, 2019
That was in response to a comment about a rumor the Cybertruck might no longer offer a single-motor version—the version that Tesla had priced at $39,900 plus destination—and there was no answer regarding that detail.
Musk added to that same thread in December that the Cybertruck will offer some sort of four-wheel steering, allowing it to turn within its own length, like a tank, or “drive diagonally like a crab.”
Product roadmap update on next earnings call
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 3, 2021
With that, Musk said that a product update would be provided on the next earnings call—which is now scheduled for January 26.
The company’s factory in Austin, Texas, is expected to build the Cybertruck. That facility is first ramping up production of the Model Y—starting within weeks—with the original “Giga Texas” plan calling for Model 3 and Y production for the Eastern U.S. to come from that factory while production of those models for the West Coast will remain from Fremont, California.
