Tesla will begin production of its much-delayed electric pickup truck, the Cybertruck, next year, along with a host of other new products, Elon Musk, the automaker’s CEO, said late Thursday.
The truck, with an angular design and stainless steel skin that sets it apart from traditional pickups, has been delayed after an unfavorable unveiling in 2019 when a designer threw a metal ball at a window in what was supposed to be a demonstration of the toughness of the truck. the vehicle.
Instead, the window cracked.
“We’re going to smash the window again,” Mr. Musk joked as a Cybertruck rolled onto the stage at a lavish “Cyber Rodeo” hosted by Tesla in Austin, Texas, to show off its newly built factory near Austin. the state capital.
“We can’t wait to build this here,” Mr. Musk, wearing a black cowboy hat, said about the truck. “I’m sorry about the delay. But next year you’ll get this, and it’s going to be really great.”
The Tesla CEO has a long history of promising products coming out later than he said they would or not at all, but his timeline for the Cybertruck is clearer than the one he gave investors in January, when he said delivery in 2023. was “probably.”
Production delays for the Cybertruck allowed rivals to get to market faster with pickup trucks, one of the most popular vehicle types in the United States. Ford is expected to begin shipping the Lightning, a battery-powered version of its F-150, this summer. Rivian’s electric pickup went on sale late last year to rave reviews, but the company has had trouble ramping up production, a common problem for new car companies.
Tesla invited about 15,000 people to the Cyber Rodeo, which Mr. Musk, with his usual hyperbole, labeled as the “biggest party on Earth.” The factory is the size of three Pentagons, he said.
Local schools closed early so parents could avoid the traffic jams caused by those flocking to the event, KXAN television station reported. Among the guests was the actor Harrison Ford. Tesla parked red, white and blue cars in formation to look like the flag of the state of Texas.
The factory is part of Tesla’s global expansion that will include a newly opened factory near Berlin. Together with an existing factory in Shanghai, the new assembly lines could help the company repeat its growth in 2021, when it nearly doubled sales to nearly one million vehicles, much faster than other major automakers.
“This year is all about scaling up,” said Mr. Musk. “Next year there will be a huge wave of new products.”
In 2023, Tesla will also produce a roadster, a semi-truck and “hopefully” the first version of a humanoid robot called Optimus, which, Mr Musk said, “will do everything people don’t want to do.” He added that a full self-driving software beta would be available to North American customers this year.
