Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously stated that a delivery event for its electric pickup truck will take place in the third quarter, but consumers are still waiting. Buyers will have to wait a little longer, it turns out.
The end of September passed with little news about Tesla beginning delivery of the long-delayed Cybertruck, prompting further doubts about the reasons for the delay and fueling further concerns about the breadth of Tesla’s lineup in the near term.
Tesla is wagering that customers will be willing to wait for an electric truck unlike anything else on the road today. Tesla’s first new passenger car in more than three years, the triangular-shaped truck sports a stainless steel body and a massive windscreen. Tesla has also stated that it will be bulletproof.
However, those same traits have made it more difficult to bring the truck to market, according to those who have worked on the Cybertruck.
The Cybertruck, which was supposed to be released in 2021, has been delayed several times, increasing pressure on Tesla to maintain sales growth with an aging lineup and as electric-vehicle demand shows symptoms of decline.
Tesla is set to disclose third-quarter global vehicle sales on Monday. The company did not reply to a request for comment.
Musk stated on the company’s first-quarter earnings call in April that a consumer delivery event will most likely be held in the third quarter to mark the start of sales.
He then hinted at the latest delay during the summer, stating the company would begin delivering the vehicle to consumers this year, avoiding a question regarding the truck’s pricing and delivery timeline.
“The Cybertruck has a lot of new technology in it, like a lot,” Musk said in July during the company’s second-quarter earnings call. “It doesn’t look like any other vehicle because it is not like any other vehicle.”
Tesla’s Cybertruck has attracted a lot of attention, with over 500,000 orders as of 2020. Musk has not provided the most recent reservation data.
The longer the truck is delayed, the more likely it is that those early buyers will abandon it, especially as competitors expand their options for an electric pickup truck.
Musk’s approach to the Cybertruck’s introduction is unusual in the car business. To prevent hassles in getting factories up and running, most automakers aim to reduce the number of new variables when starting production on a new car, typically employing shared parts with older models.
The battery technology used in the Cybertruck is new, the plant where it is manufactured is less than two years old, and the truck design is complex.
The angular exterior of the truck, for example, is made of stainless steel, which is heavier than the metal normally used to build automobile body panels. According to a person familiar with the situation, the extra pounds made it more difficult for Tesla to meet its range targets, and the company spent months evaluating various components for possibilities to reduce weight.
Employees have also struggled to meet Musk’s promise of an impenetrable vehicle while staying inside budget. The level of security provided by the truck Tesla intends to sell cannot be determined.
“You’re adding a lot of compounding risk just from the newness and the unknownness,” said Mark Wakefield, managing director at consulting firm AlixPartners.
Tesla’s Model Y crossover, a Model 3 sedan variant, is an example of a more typical technique. Musk stated in 2019, prior of the Model Y’s release, that the vehicles would share around 75% of their parts.
Meanwhile, preproduction versions of the Cybertruck have been sighted in cities such as San Francisco, piqueing Tesla enthusiasts’ interest in the truck’s ultimate debut.
