On June 6, 2022, Tesla Cybertruck visited the Elkhorn Battery energy storage system in Moss Landing, California.
Nick Curry | Bloomberg | Getty Images
electric car manufacturer Tesla is set to reveal details Chief Executive Elon Musk appeared in a bizarre interview at the DealBook Summit in New York on Thursday, one day after the company unveiled its new, unconventional Cybertruck pickup truck. At that event, Musk boasted: “This will be the biggest product launch on the planet so far this year.”
The event, which will be held in Austin on Thursday at 2 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET) and will be broadcast live, will mark the first time the company has delivered a Cybertruck to customers.
During the October earnings call, Musk made more cautious remarks, saying: “There will be huge challenges in achieving mass production of Cybertruck and making Cybertruck cash flow positive. “We dug our own grave with the Cybertruck,” he also said at the time, noting the “unique challenges” of producing and bringing the truck to market.
Tesla first launched the Cybertruck in November 2019 with an angular, unpainted, hard steel body. Tesla has previously said that production of the car will begin in 2021, with an entry-level price of $39,900. The rear-wheel-drive version, with the highest-spec three-motor version priced at about $69,000.
The company began accepting refundable $100 “pre-orders” for the Cybertruck after its debut, and it says it has received more than 1 million pre-orders since launch.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors caused a two-year delay, and Tesla didn’t start early-stage Cybertruck production until July this year.
Meanwhile, competitors include Ford, General Motors and Rivian Start selling more practical electric pickup trucks. Earlier this week, Rivian, which only makes pure electric vehicles like Tesla, began offering leasing options on select models of its all-electric R1T pickup truck.
The U.S. electric pickup truck market isn’t expanding as fast as some thought when the Cybertruck was first released. Some startups, such as Lordstown Motors, have either already brought vehicles to market or have had little success. General Motors and Ford have both announced plans to scale back, delay or cancel electric vehicle products and investments, including some related to electric trucks.
—Mike Weiland contributed to this report.
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