Tesla Cybertruck Delayed Until 2022

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Tesla’s Cybertruck has been delayed. The automaker updated its online vehicle configurations to reflect that the model will no longer be arriving in 2021. The pickup’s new launch date is set for sometime in 2022, with no hints on what part of the year the company plans on getting the assembly lines humming.

Though there’s little reason to get bent out of shape. Tesla has always been notorious for delaying vehicles and the automotive sector is currently in a state where you’d probably be more shocked to learn that Cybertruck was arriving on time. Besides, Tesla now has more time to dangle the model in front of consumers as a way to keep itself relevant.

All three versions of the stainless steel pickup now state that you can “complete your configuration as production nears in 2022.” However the slicker versions of the vehicle were originally supposed to be made available by the end of 2021.

Musk had previously stated that the truck was posing challenges for the brand all the way up through the summer. In July, he said that developing a new platform had been difficult and hinted that it could impact its production rollout. One of the biggest issues is readying Tesla Giga Texas for the model, which uses totally different production methods than its other vehicles. The Austin-based plant isn’t technically finished with construction either. However the company feels confident it can at least commence Model Y assembly in the coming weeks, with Cybertruck following closer to the facility’s completion.

Sadly, specifics are nonexistent because Tesla dissolved its PR team last year. However we did get a glimpse of the factory this week.

On Monday, the Austin Tesla Club reposted a recent clip of Cybertruck cruising around the worksite. The tweet noted how much the pickup looked like CGI but it was the barren landscape that was the most interesting. Giga Texas doesn’t seem to be quite as far along as anticipated but there’s information to suggest that Tesla is at least on the cusp to start production within the next month or two — albeit nowhere near full-scale levels.

https://twitter.com/AustinTeslaClub/status/1424865555765473284

[Image: Tesla]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Cliff731 Cliff731 on Aug 10, 2021

    Tesla and Musk need to bury that Cybertruck thing in a deep hole in the desert... and forget all about it. If Musk is hellbent on taking this oddity to market, it will be a sales flop of costly magnitude... e.g. - Ford's Edsel comes to mind. A few folks would actually purchase one, of course, simply due to it being so "different"... but not in the sales volume that Tesla's competitors will garner with their EV trucks. Tesla's $$$ (and Musk money) would be best spent on a clean sheet conventional "looking" design... and not spent on something that looks like it came from a 1980's or 1990's Mattel Hot Wheels kids toy pack.

    • See 9 previous
    • Mcs Mcs on Aug 12, 2021

      @285exp ". People who tow travel, boat, and horse trailers are a big market, especially for the high end trucks" I know a lot of people that tow trailers and boats with Toyota Highlanders. Not everyone has a 40' trailer or a huge boat. I have several neighbors with horses and every one of them uses a dually for a truck. No dual version of the CT. As far as flyover country using trucks for work, I'm a native Texan and my home state is probably the capital of pickup trucks as fashion accessories. We have an expression, "all hat and no cattle". In New England, because of the narrow twisty roads, if someone owns a pickup truck, there is usually a good reason. Actually, in New England, snow plow operators would have a tough time with an electric. They have to work fast plowing driveways and consume a lot of fuel quickly. Probably one of the worst use cases for an electric pickup.

  • ToolGuy ToolGuy on Aug 10, 2021

    Pretty sure Elon Musk is closely monitoring TTAC for cutting-edge business advice. /S

    • 96redse5sp 96redse5sp on Aug 11, 2021

      Yeah, I was wondering about that. Is anyone else here among the five wealthiest people on the planet? Are we hearing from entrepreneurs who have numerous multi-million dollar start-ups under their belts? Musk is a world-class asshole, but if you think you’re a better, more innovative business person than Musk, you’re probably wrong.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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