Elon Musk has announced that Tesla's Cybertruck has changed significantly since the initial announcement and will have a higher price tag. Musk first announced the electric vehicle on Nov. 21, 2019, to considerable fanfare in Los Angelos. It was initially supposed to go into production in 2021 with a starting price of $39,900. Then in Aug. 2021, the truck was delayed until 2022. At an earnings call in July 2022, Musk announced that the Cybertruck would go into production in mid-2023. It's hard to say if that will happen, given the numerous delays that have plagued the EV.
Prototypes have been spotted in numerous places. In May 2022, the Cybertruck was seen at the Formula SAE event. Tesla brought it to the event as part of a recruitment drive. It was driven around the track. Fans were so excited it appeared on a couple of social media sites. The following month consumers got a glimpse inside the vehicle. Unfortunately, the design wasn't as exciting as the exterior. But this is just a prototype.
At Tesla's 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, Musk made some new announcements regarding the anticipated Cybertruck. First, the finished product will cost more. Unfortunately, he did not elaborate on what that price may be. He said this is due to inflation, but the final electric truck will also be much different than the one announced in 2019. Again, he didn't give any details on the changes or additions. There wasn't that much known about the Cybertruck, to begin with. There were some details, but most of the images on the company's page to reserve one are pretty blurry. Now, it's even more unclear what consumers will get.
Will Elon Musk Ever Be Done Developing The Cybertruck?
While Musk has a thriving EV business, some of his other projects don't always go as planned. His rockets with SpaceX are accustomed to delays too. Musk has lofty goals, so sometimes, his timetable for accomplishing those plans can be overly ambitious. It appears that the Cybertruck is one of those things. One might also think that since it looks like something that people would drive on Mars, he may have overly ambitious goals for this EV. The images on the Tesla website indicate it wasn't a finished product, but what more does Musk have in store for the truck, and how much longer will it take to develop?
As of June 2020, 650,000 people had reserved a Cybertruck. That was the last reported number, but as of May 2021, a crowdsource tally estimated that reservations had reached one million. This makes sense, given that the U.S. is the only place consumers can reserve the truck now. There are probably many people that are all in for whatever the final product will be, but others may be upset with a price increase. It's crazy how many people have reserved a car when they don't know what they are getting. With all the delays, an even better Cybertruck will help keep demand high for whenever consumers can finally get their hands on one. It may be time to release it and improve it for future models.
Source: Tesla/YouTube