Musk: Cybertruck Production Will Be "Very Slow At First"

Another day, another Tesla Cybertruck delay. After its reveal in 2019, CEO Elon Musk promised deliveries in late 2021, but a pandemic and global supply chain crisis threw a curve. The automaker’s next target is coming up soon, and Musk does not appear confident the company will meet that goal.

In a recent earnings call, a participant asked Musk if Tesla would meet its mid-2023 Cybertruck production goals, according to The Verge. While he confirmed that the truck would start production this summer, he also acknowledged that mass production won’t start until 2024. On the ramp-up, Musk said, “I always try to downplay the start of production. It increases exponentially, but it is very slow at first.”

Tesla is expected to build the truck at its Gigafactory in Austin, and the automaker announced that it had begun installing the tooling and equipment for Cybertruck production. The mostly stainless-steel pickup is reminiscent of the DeLorean from Back to the Future fame.

Tesla was one of the first to announce an electric truck and could have been an early mover. Rivian announced the R1T in 2018, months before Tesla and its trucks started reaching buyers in late 2021. If the automaker can pull off this timeline, the Cybertruck will land at the same time as the Chevrolet Silverado EV and more than a year after the Ford F-150 Lightning, giving it much stronger competition than it would have had otherwise. 

[Image: Tesla]

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