Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that the final design of the Cybertruck is now “locked in”, and has estimated it will finally go into production in 2023.
Originally promised for late 2021 after it as debuted in 2020, the news will be welcomed for many reservation holders – estimated by some at more than one million – of the rule-breaking Cybertruck.
However, it is still not known if the Cybertruck – which garnered thousands of (fully refundable) pre-orders in Australia – will ever make it here.
In a four-hour interview with the Tesla Owners Silicon Valley channel on Youtube, Musk answered questions about the Cybertruck, the launch of which has been delayed several times.
While initial delays were put down to cell constraints, in more recent times it has been the global semiconductor shortage that has kept Tesla from moving forward with the Cybertruck.
While that hurdle is still very much an issue for Tesla along with all chip-related industries, one reason for delay is now out of the way, says Musk.
“The design at least finally is locked,” he told the TOSV team, admitting that he and the Tesla design team may have gotten “too carried away.”
Musk also reiterated a 2023 production timeline, which was touted in March: “I think we’ll do it next year …. in roughly twelve months-ish,” he said.
When it was first made available for order, the Cybertruck was available in three variants: a single-motor, dual-motor, and tri-motor priced from
It was always clear that the original Cbertruck seen at its debut was a prototype, and that the Tesla design team would be working on some pretty cool features in a bid to bring to market a vehicle that was like no other.
In November 2021, Musk described the Cybertruck as an “insane technology bandwagon,” however lamented the supply chain nightmare that had developed as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold globally.
Then in December 2021, Tesla revealed that a first edition would come to market in the form of a quad-motor Cybertruck with four independent motors that could drive diagonally (known as a “crab walk”).
The Tesla Cybertruck can still be ordered via the Tesla website in the US, but there are no details about what variants are available, nor features or even prices.
And, sadly for those that have ordered it in Australia, there is no change on the May closure of orders in global markets. The Cybertruck page is still closed for Australia, with only a “Stay Updated” button for those visiting the page.
Nevertheless, Musk is still upbeat on the Cybertruck, which has long been known as a pet project for the visionary and sometimes divisive entreprenuer. “That’s what I’ll be driving,” he said.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.