Tesla will not be making the highly anticipated Cybertruck EV pickup this year, as it focuses on increasing capacity from its current plants in California and China and its nearly ready new factories in Texas and Germany, CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday.
“We will not be introducing new vehicle models this year,” Musk said on the fourth-quarter earnings call. “It would not make sense.”
Musk said that the company has been focused on optimizing its limited supply of computer chips that operate basic vehicle functions like electric seats and window switches, and that introducing new models and new complexity would actually reduce total vehicle output.
At the same time, Musk said that the company is doing engineering and planning work on the Cybertruck, the Tesla Semi cargo truck, the Roadster and the Tesla robot that’s being called Optimus.
But in terms of production of new products, that would only come when they would increase Tesla output rather than limit it. “It will be dependent on will we be able to produce more or fewer,” he said.
Likewise, Musk said there are no current plans for a cheaper Tesla, which some observers refer to as the Model 2.
“We are not currently working on a $25,000 car,” Musk said in response to a question. “At some point we will. But we have enough on our plate right now — too much on our plate frankly.” He also suggested that robot taxis were a better way to reduce transportation costs than cheaper EVs.
Musk also suggested that Tesla was struggling to make the Cybertruck affordable while loading it up with new technologies.
“There’s a lot of new technology in the Cybertruck that will take some time to work through,” he said on the call Wednesday. “And there’s the question of what’s the average cost of Cybertuck and to what degree that is affordable.” He said he hoped volume for the pickup would reached 250,000 a year eventually.
Originally, the Cybertuck was timed for launch at the end of 2021 at a starting cost of around $40,000.
