US electric-car giant Tesla is due to begin production of its delayed Cybertruck in mid 2023 – and reportedly ramp up towards the end of the year – more than two years after the controversial pick-up was due to hit the road.
Production of the long-awaited Tesla Cybertruck is due to begin in the middle of 2023 – but overseas reports suggest it will not ramp up until closer to the end of 2023.
In July, Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed the controversial and delayed Cybertruck is scheduled to enter production “[in the] middle of next year” – a target repeated last month.
This week, news agency Reuters has corroborated this timeline – but claims “mass production” of the Tesla Cybertruck in large numbers will not be reached until towards the end of 2023, citing two people who have in-depth knowledge of the US electric car-giant.
The six-month production ramp-up is consistent with other Tesla models, which have initially rolled out of factory doors in small volumes and few model grades, before expanding the model range and increasing production output later on.
The Tesla Cybertruck was unveiled in concept-car form in late 2019, with the company claiming at the time production would commence in late 2021.
Production of the electric pick-up has subsequently been pushed back multiple times, due to factors such as a global shortage of parts and Tesla’s own internal delays.
According to Reuters, the Tesla Cybertruck’s delayed mass production ramp-up would force hundreds of thousands of customers who have placed a deposit on the electric car to wait for many more months.
In August 2021, it was estimated Tesla had already taken approximately 1.25 million orders for the Cybertruck with potential customers placing a $150 deposit on the electric pick-up – amounting to about $187.5 million.
Earlier this year, Mr Musk said the Tesla Cybertruck’s price will be “different” from its 2019 projections of $US39,900 ($AU62,300 today) for the entry-level single-motor model, citing rising inflation and production costs.
Last week, an updated prototype of the Tesla Cybertruck (above) was filmed at the electric-car giant’s factory in Austin, Texas, with the pre-production model displaying a handful of minor changes compared to the most recent concept.
Tesla’s Cybertruck also recently appeared on iconic TV show The Simpsons, making a brief cameo appearance in this year’s iteration of the show’s annual Halloween episode, known as Treehouse of Horror.
The @Tesla Cybertruck makes an cameo appearance in @TheSimpsons “Treehouse of Horror XXXIII” for Halloween 2022 ????. #Tesla $TSLA #TheSimpsons #FoxTV @DisneyPlus @WholeMarsBlog @28delayslater @JohnnaCrider1 @EvaFoxU pic.twitter.com/IN9GhygBzT
— Gary Mark????Blue Sky Kites (@blueskykites) October 31, 2022
Twitter user Gary Mark (username @blueskykites) was one of the first to point out the Cybertruck’s debut in the popular cartoon, showing the electric pick-up driving past a number of characters, with references to moments from the show’s early years.
In the final moments of its appearance, the Tesla Cybertruck passes the flamethrower-wielding Hank Scorpio – the evil genius and billionaire who featured in an episode in 1996, You Only Move Twice.
In 2018, Elon Musk’s ‘The Boring Company’ released a flamethrower for $US500, prompting Musk to joke on Twitter that he is the real-life equivalent of Hank Scorpio.
The post Tesla Cybertruck production to ramp up in late 2023 – report appeared first on Drive.