Tesla postpones launch of Cybertruck pickup truck until next year due to battery shortage
US electric vehicle maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that if pickup trucks were launched right now, each Cybertruck would “literally cost a million dollars a piece or more,” adding that production was being delayed until 2022 due to battery shortages. The announcement was made on Monday during Tesla's Q2 call.
Tesla is currently only able to produce the Cybertruck in extremely small quantities, which would raise its expected MSRP from $ 40,000 to $ 70,000.
"There is a reason why you do something in mass production, which is to get economies of scale that lower cost," Musk said.
Drew Baglino, Senior Vice President of Powertrains and Energy, during the call noted that Cybertruck is still in preliminary alpha stage and only basic engineering architecture has been completed, but Tesla plans to move to beta testing stage at the end this year.
Baglino also said that Tesla's battery cell suppliers plan to double production in 2022.
Recall that over a million pre-orders were made on Cybertruck, each of which cost potential pickup buyers $ 100.
Tesla Cybertruck, Semi and Model Y will be powered by the new 4680 battery, which was unveiled last September at the Battery Day event.