10:08 am, July 17, 2023
Tesla has built its first Cybertruck four years after first debuting the pick-up.
The American company posted a photo on Elon Musk-owned Twitter on Saturday (July 15) showing workers posing for a photograph with a Cybertruck, along with the caption: ‘First Cybertruck built at Giga Texas.’
The wedge-shaped vehicle was first revealed in November 2019 with production slated to commence two years later.
Since that reveal, Musk has been keen to temper expectations for a production date and how quickly the firm can ramp up manufacturing.
According to Automotive News Europe, Musk told shareholders at Tesla’s annual meeting in May that the pick-up’s stainless steel body posed challenges in welding and construction.
‘It’s going to be hard to make the cost affordable because it is a new car, new manufacturing method,’ he said.
‘In the grand scheme of things, relative to the production rate of all the other cars we make, it will be small. But it’s still very cool.’
Tesla originally said the Cybertruck would come in three configurations – a single motor 250-mile version starting at $39,900 (£30,478), a dual motor model with a 300-mile range and a price of $49,900 (£38,117) and a tri-motor version with a 500-plus-mile range and a price tag of $69,900 (£53,394).
However, Tesla has since gone quiet on pricing and specifications with Musk hinting more details would be announced at the first handover event thought to be staged at the end of Q3 this year.
Analysts have speculated on how many Cybertrucks Tesla will shift, with Deutsche Bank’s Emmanuel Rosner predicting Tesla will sell 2,000 this year – a tiny fraction of the near 1.8m vehicles the company expects to sell in total.
