Elon Musk Touts Cybertruck Production Nightmare amid Delays
Tesla has dug a grave for itself as it tries to integrate every kind of feature and technology on the Cybertruck. That’s the sentiment echoed by CEO Elon Musk, who believes it could take 12 to 18 months for the automaker to hit any high volumes with its next-generation piece of technology.
Cybertruck Nightmare
A stainless body that is corrosion resistant is not the only thing that Tesla has to worry about as it eyes mass Cybertruck production. It will be the first high-voltage vehicle designed for faster charging. The fact that the car is dependent on battery cells produced in-house presents a unique set of challenges.
Over the years, Tesla has relied on batteries produced by other companies to power Model X and Model S. However, as it seeks to integrate faster charging, Tesla is moving battery production in-house, presenting yet another manufacturing headache.
The EV giant has already taken orders for the Cybertruck, with pricing starting from $39,000 and ranging to $69,900. However, it has removed price and specifications from its website, having been hit with production delays.
The delay is mainly attributed to Musk’s pushing to use an ultrahard stainless steel alloy similar to the one SpaceX uses on its Starship. While stainless steel is a perfect fit for the vehicle as it resists corrosion and does not need to be painted, it is costly and difficult to shape and weld together.
Consequently, Cybertruck is slowly emerging as another manufacturing headache similar to the challenges that Tesla has faced with Model X. Six years later; Tesla is yet to achieve high-volume production with its flagship Model X sport utility car.
Like the Cybertruck, the Model X comes with all kinds of cool things that people could ever imagine as Tesla sought to affirm its status in self-driving cars. Musk has termed the Model X the Fabergé egg of cars, featuring symbols of opulence integrated into precious metals and gemstones. Musk has already insisted it was a terrible strategy to incorporate all cool things at once instead of starting simple and adding things slowly over time.
Simplicity has already proved to be the real deal, going to the level of success that Tesla has enjoyed with the Model 3 Sedan and the Model Y SUV. The two cars have broken into the mainstream, affirming Tesla as the most valuable electric vehicle automaker.
The simplicity of the two vehicles, as they do not come with all the fancy features or high-end technologies, has allowed Tesla to ramp up production. In return, the automaker has fulfilled the ever-growing demand for electric vehicles.
Production Delays
However, that is not expected with Cybertruck, which comes with various features and technologies. Musk reiterating that it will take 12 to 18 months of blood, sweat, and tears to achieve high volumes affirms the work that needs to be done. It is highly unlikely that the EV giant will reach an annualized production rate of 250,000 Cybertruck by 2025.
Tesla is unlikely to go slow on the Cybertruck, even with one analyst on Wall Street reiterating it would be good for the company’s shares. Musk has made it his intention to transform pickup trucks, which he insists have looked more or less the same over the last century.
