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Tesla introduced the Cybertruck to much fanfare back in 2019. At the time of the unveiling, Tesla said the vehicle would come in 2021. However, due to the chip shortage and supply line disruptions plaguing the entire automotive industry coupled with battery constraints for Tesla’s newest 4680 cells, the EV maker has been forced to delay the Cybertruck.
Recently, Elon Musk went into a bit of detail explaining why Tesla was forced to delay the Cybertruck and pushed the timeline for mass production of the futuristic post-apocalyptic truck as far out as 2023.
With so much excitement and over a million reservations by some estimates, the Cybertruck delay will surely disappoint many people. However, Tesla’s decision is understandable. According to Elon Musk, if Tesla decided to begin producing the Cybertruck today Tesla would still not be able to increase vehicle output as the company is already producing as many vehicles as they could find parts for.
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Having said that, Tesla does not seem to be stopping the changes to the Cybertruck with the production timeline. In an update to the company’s online configurator late last night, Tesla removed all options and prices from the Cybertruck order page.
Now if you go to order a Cybertruck, you will not be able to choose between the Tri-motor, Dual-motor, and Rear Wheel drive variants. In addition, you can no longer lock in the $10,000 price for the FSD option.
The move has begun rumors Tesla is looking to change Cybertruck options. When introducing the all-electric truck Tesla said initial production will begin with the rear-wheel-drive $39,900 variant.
However, after Tesla opened reservations, the overwhelming interest ended up being for the more expensive and powerful dual motor and tri-motor variant. As a result, Tesla moved production of the last two options sooner and pushed production of the rear-wheel-drive variant back.
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And now with the recent change to the online configurator, there are rumors Tesla has decided to remove the rear wheel variant altogether. This makes sense given, up until today the RWD Cybertruck used to be the cheapest Tesla you can buy. Even the much smaller and less capable Standard Range Plus Model 3 is $2,000 more expensive.
And given the astronomical rise in raw material prices brought about by inflation and supply line disruptions since Tesla introduced the Cybertruck’s pricing, it will be almost impossible for the EV maker to honor the initial $39,900 starting price.
A new leak from Tesla insiders suggests that the EV maker has already begun work on a massive 12,000-ton Gigapress. According to the leaks, Tesla will use the new Gigapress to build a vehicle in one piece.-https://t.co/QpqWEcWQtf-#Tesla #Gigapress #TeslaGigapress pic.twitter.com/XGJN4veq6r— Torque News (@torquenewsauto) October 15, 2021
Just in 2021, all variants of Tesla’s vehicles have seen price increases ranging from $5,000 for the Standard Range Plus Model 3 to over $10,000 for the refreshed Model S & X.
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Another factor that suggests Tesla might discontinue the RWD Cybertruck is the relatively limited demand for the variant. In order to deliver the vehicle for a relatively cheaper price, Tesla needs to sell many of them so that the company could benefit from economies of scale.
One strategy Tesla could use to make the base Cybertruck attractive to potential customers is to increase the range from 250 miles to 300 miles. This would make the variants good enough for most people that Tesla could leverage economies of scale.
As of now, we don’t have any concrete information about changes Tesla could make to the Cybertruck beyond conjecture. However, we will be sure to keep you posted as more information comes out. Make sure to visit our site torquenews.com/Tesla regularly for the latest updates.
So what do you think? Does the recent move by Tesla suggest the company is planning to increase the Cybertruck’s price? Also, do you wish Tesla makes changes to the RWD variant? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below.
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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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