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Tesla first announced the Cybertruck back in November 2019. At the time, the EV maker said production of the Cybertruck is slated to begin at the end of 2021. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that the Cybertruck comes with several new technologies have delayed the launch of the futuristic truck.
The more than a year-and-a-half delay has even led some to speculate that due to the vehicle's unorthodox design, Tesla has completely backed off from the Cybertruck project and that the truck will not see the light of day.
However, for those of us who have been impatiently waiting for the Cybertruck’s release, today, Tesla, through the company’s official Twitter page, announced that the company has built the first production Cybertruck at Giga Texas.
Congrats Tesla Team! https://t.co/FPUgBqBpdY
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2023
The truck was presumably produced on the main Cybertruck production line which is expected, when fully ramped, to produce around 375,000 trucks annually.
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Together with this announcement, Tesla also shared a picture of the hardworking employees that delivered the company to this significant milestone and as expected Tesla also included a picture of the very first production Cybertruck.
Although the futuristic electric pickup truck has been delayed several times, as of today, the Cybertruck is officially out of the concept phase and is on production ramp.
This on its own is really exciting, however, thanks to the picture of the first production Cybertruck Tesla shared, we also get a confirmation of some of the features of the Cybertruck.
In the picture, we can clearly see that the giant single windshield wiper, which is affectionately called the Giga wiper, has made it to the final design of the Cybertruck.
Initially when we got our first picture of a Cybertruck prototype sporting the Giga wiper Musk had said that this will not be the final design of the Cybertruck’s windshield wiper.
Musk’s statement led to some wild speculation including that the Cybertruck will have laser windshield wipers, however, love it or hate, today’s picture of the first production Cybertruck all but confirms that the truck will have a gigantic single windshield wiper.
The second controversial and unconfirmed feature of the Cybertruck is the design of the truck’s steering wheel. When Tesla originally unveiled the Cybertruck, the company showed it with a yoke steering wheel.
However, after Tesla recently walked back the yoke steering wheel on the refreshed Model S/X and started offering those vehicles standard with conventional circular steering wheels, there was speculation that the Cybertruck will also get a round steering wheel.
However, if you closely look at the picture of the first production Cybertruck, you can see that the vehicle has a yoke steering wheel.
Some customers who took delivery of the Model S and X with a yoke steering wheel have complained that the design of the steering wheel makes it difficult to maneuver their vehicles at slow speeds.
One way to get around this issue with yoke steering wheels, which is not currently implemented on the Model S and X, is to have a steer-by-wire system and variable steering ratio.
Since a steer-by-wire system doesn’t have a mechanical linkage between the steering wheel and tires, it opens up the possibility of having different steering wheel/tire movement relationships at different speeds.
It’s not clear if Tesla has implemented such kind of system on the Cybertruck. However, for individuals who are completely opposed to a yoke steering wheel, according to a previously leaked image of the Cybertruck’s interior, the truck’s steering wheel design, unlike that of the Model S/X, is not a complete yoke but, more of a mid-way between a yoke and round steering wheel and has an octagonal design.
Currently, this is all the information we were able to glean from the first picture of the production Cybertruck, however, we will be sure to keep you posted once we learn more details about the truck.
Until then, make sure to visit our site torquenews.com/Tesla regularly for the latest updates.
So what do you think? Excited to see the first production Cybertruck being built at Giga Texas? Also, what do you think about the Giga wiper and yoke steering wheel being included in the final design of the truck? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Image: Courtesy of Tesla
For more information check out: A Look at Tesla Leaked Documents Showing Cybertruck Production Numbers
Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.
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