- After years of memes, broken promises, and a lot of waiting, evidence is mounting that Tesla’s Cybertruck is actually nearing production.
- The manufacturer took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to announce the first Cybertruck was built at the company’s Giga Texas facility on July 15.
- Internet sleuths have spotted increased sightings of Cybertrucks on public roads, as well as delivery trucks loaded with what appear to be production vehicles.
So far it’s been four years of memes, internet arguments, broken promises, and a lot of waiting, but evidence is mounting that the Tesla Cybertruck may actually be nearing full production. Think back to the time before the Cybertruck (unbroken windows and all) rolled onto stage for the first time—we’ll give you a moment. It’s been so long, you’ve probably undergone some major life events such as getting married, going through a divorce, having kids, or, like all of us, living through a global pandemic. Major life events or not, it appears the Cybertruck is rounding the final corners before entering mass production.
Production for the Cybertruck was originally planned to start in late 2021. It was later pushed back to begin sometime in 2022, before Musk kicked the can farther down the road to 2023. According to The Verge, Musk confirmed in January that the Cybertruck won’t enter full volume production until sometime in 2024, but early manufacturing efforts were slated to begin this summer.
First Truck Built July 15
That timeline appears to be the most accurate to date, with the manufacturer announcing on the recently renamed X.com that the first Cybertruck was built at the company’s Giga Texas facility on July 15.
The slow ramp-up in production is further corroborated by increased sightings of Cybertrucks on delivery trucks. Internet sleuths and excited Tesla fans have been posting spy photos of delivery trucks laden with multiple Cybertucks. There have also been more sightings of test vehicles seen driving on the road. Unsurprisingly, given the CEO’s track record, one of the test vehicles has been seen with both Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra inspired wraps. Why? Honestly, we don’t know.
Pricing Changes
Back at the start of the whole Cybertruck saga, Tesla announced the vehicle would carry a starting price of $39,900 in the base single-motor RWD version. The dual-motor AWD truck was planned at $49,000, and the tri-motor AWD was supposed to launch with 500 miles of range and a starting price of $69,900.
Unfortunately for a lot of consumers, those figures seem pretty out of reach at this point. The Ford F-150 Lightning, which launched around $40,000, shot up in price by more than $10,000 before falling back down to settle around a $52,000 entry point. The Rivian R1T starts even higher, at $74,800, and the GMC Hummer EV is even more expensive at nearly $87,000.
Musk all but confirmed there’ll be a price increase over the initial prediction. According to a report by Forbes, the CEO backed away from the price, saying, “It’s going to be hard to make [it] affordable because it is a new car, a new manufacturing method.” We won’t really know for sure until Tesla itself confirms the initial selling price, but if the last year of price fluctuations are anything to go by, anything shy of a receipt could be wrong.
Associate News Editor
Jack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1.
After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.