Last week, it was reported that the Tesla Cybertruck had been spotted in New Zealand ahead of likely winter testing as Tesla finalises development before production.Ā
Now, thanks to Cybertruck enthusiasts, photos have emerged on Twitter of the Cybertruck being delivered to its testing location on the South Island.Ā
The photos show a Cybetruck with camouflage being unloaded out of a shipping container on the back of a Semi.
Cybertruck testing out.. She's riding in New Zealand! @elonmusk :0 h/t MarkusNZL pic.twitter.com/4DvkVjhVZw
— Greggertruck (@greggertruck) June 24, 2023
On this occasion, the front trunk (Frunk) of the Cybertruck also appears to be lifted, which in itself is a rare sighting.Ā
Recent sightings in Palo Alto, California, only show the truck being driven around and not so much the opening of the Frunk which is a highly debated topic amongst Cybertruck fans, order holders and the general truck community.
Itās unclear at this stage as to why the Cybertruck in New Zealand has a camouflage. One theory is that it is to protect the stainless steel outer body of the vehicle while itās being tested in winter conditions.
This doesnāt explain the sightings in the US where multiple Cybertruck sightings have shown the same camouflage on them.
As Tesla approaches the start of production of the Cybertruck at its GigaTexas factory, in recent days, another interesting development has emerged.Ā
This time, itās thanks to a drone flyover by professional drone pilot and Tesla enthusiasts Joe Tegtmeyer, who has spotted two 9,000 Tonne Giga Press machines that are fully assembled.Ā
These machines will be used to produce the large underbody castings of the Cybertruck and are the biggest Tesla has used so far.
23 June 2023 Giga Texas inside images of the casting machine area! Window covers removed strangely right when we are seeing a lot of Cybertrucks in the wild! Two 9K Giga Presses are installed, a new N-S foundation under construction in the E bay! See this and a lot more in myā¦ pic.twitter.com/iagCLS9PXv
— Joe Tegtmeyer š š¤ š (@JoeTegtmeyer) June 23, 2023
Previously, some of these castings have been spotted in other parts of the factory which gives a positive sign to hundreds of thousands of reservation holders that production is nearing.
On the back of the Gigacasting machines being spotted, it created buzz amongst the order holders who have been waiting years for this moment.
āThanks Joe!Ā This is great news for us reservation holdersā¦. Letās goooooā, one reservation holder said.
āMan, Tesla is going to blow it out of the water!ā, another EV enthusiast said.
As Tesla approaches the final stages of pre-production testing and with all signs indicating production not being too far, the buzz around this unique utilitarian vehicle is starting to build. We look forward to covering the developments as they come to hand.
RizĀ is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.