Tesla CEO Elon Musk raised production concerns — and revealed the first deliveries — for the automaker’s much-awaited Cybertruck electric pickup truck. The company announced that deliveries would begin on Nov. 30 in a blog post on its website. The delivery event will take place at the company’s Gigafactory in Texas. At the event, Tesla may unveil additional details about the truck’s specs and pricing.
In an email to employees published by Electrek, Musk warns that ramping up production of the new truck will be difficult. He says, “It is important that the final product meets my set quality standards. This is especially critical as Cybertruck is made primarily of bright metal with mostly straight edges.” The CEO compares the problem to LEGO and soda cans.
The Cybertruck is Tesla’s latest attempt to enter the pickup truck segment, which conventional automakers have long dominated. The world’s most valuable automaker produces electric sedans and sport utility vehicles. Still, it has missed out on the pickup truck segment, which is highly profitable and hugely popular in the United States. That’s allowed rivals such as Ford and Rivian to gain ground on Tesla.
Musk said that he would put much of his money into the Cybertruck to ensure its success. He has already poured billions into the project and has promised to spend up to $1 billion more in 2023 to ramp up production.
While the company is progressing, producing enough Cybertrucks to satisfy demand will be challenging. Musk says that the company has already received more than 1 million reservations for the vehicle. That translates into a small deposit that customers can use to reserve a production version of the pickup.
Quality issues have plagued Teslas in the past. The Model 3 launched in 2017 with panel gaps and paint defects, while the Model Y had similar problems. Tesla is working hard to improve quality, but the automaker has yet to overcome its manufacturing issues fully.
Despite its quality problems, Teslas have been a hit with consumers. The company’s Model S sedan is the best-selling car in America, and the Model X SUV has been a strong performer. Investors are betting on the Cybertruck to do even better when it’s released, but the company must prove it can deliver a reliable vehicle before that happens. If it doesn’t, it could face an uphill battle to compete with the likes of Toyota and Honda, which have established themselves as the top-selling pickup brands in the country.
