Tesla Cybertruck pickup should have commercial production in 2023, says agency

Tesla plans to begin mass production of the Cybertruck electric pickup in late 2023, two years after Elon Musk’s initial goal was revealed in 2019, two sources close to the matter told Reuters.

Tesla said last month that it was preparing its Texas plant to assemble the new model on an “early production” basis scheduled for mid-2023. “We are on the final lap for the Cybertruck,” Musk told analysts at a conference.

A gradual production in the second half of next year will mean that Tesla will not have revenue until early 2024 for a quarter of the new model’s production.

It also means another year’s wait for the hundreds of thousands of potential buyers in one of the most highly-anticipated electric vehicle launches in history.

Tesla did not comment on the matter.

In 2019, Tesla had projected a starting price of less than $40,000 for the Cybertruck, but new-vehicle prices have soared since then and the automaker has increased values ​​across its range.

One source said the Cybertruck was designed to use Tesla’s 4680 batteries. But analyst Sam Abuelsamid of Guidehouse Insights said the company had failed to significantly increase battery production, which could lead to more delays for the pickup beyond the end of 2023.

Musk said in October that 4680 batteries shouldn’t be a limiting factor for the Cybertruck. He said battery production was growing exponentially, but gave no details. The billionaire introduced Cybertruck in 2019. The company has delayed production time three times: from late 2021 to late 2022, then to early 2023, and most recently to the mid-2023 target for initial production.

Cybertruck will bring Tesla into one of the most profitable segments of the US market and will be a competitor to electric pickup trucks from companies like Ford and Rivian.

In January, Musk cited component shortages as the reason for pushing the Cybertruck’s launch to 2023.