During its Q4 2021 earnings call on Wednesday afternoon, Tesla confirmed that the wait for any new products from the company would stretch into next year. That means the earliest we’ll see a Cybertruck, Roadster or Semi is 2023.
Elon Musk said this year Tesla will focus on expanding the output of its current services, as the company still struggles (as does the rest of the industry) with supply chain delays and chip shortage.
According to Musk, the introduction of a new product line will result in fewer vehicle deliveries overall, and the company has an ambitious 50% average annual growth rate in vehicle deliveries over the next few years. The company saw a 70% increase in vehicle deliveries from Q4 2020 to Q4 2021, impressive growth as the company reported a cumulative profit for the first time in its history and gross margin. operating profit was 14% last quarter.
Tesla Cybertruck Prototype – November 2019
Musk also detailed some of the challenges of bringing the Cybertruck to market, saying that batteries won’t be a limiting factor in the vehicle’s production. The problem appears to be affordability, with Musk saying he’s “worried about how (we) make the Cybertruck affordable even though it has all this amazing technology”.
“You can create something that’s incredibly desirable, but if it’s not affordable, that limits people’s ability to buy it,” Musk further explained.
Musk also set a sales target of 250,000 units per year for the Cybertruck when it launches. For that to happen, Tesla will need to increase production capacity across its plants, something it is on track to do with the addition of new plants in Austin, Texas and Berlin. There are also hints that Tesla is looking at locations for even more factories, with an announcement likely to be made before the end of the year.
The new timeline puts the Cybertruck very well behind the introduction of the electric pickup truck Ford and Chevroletnot to mention Rivian R1T that was delivered. None of that comes close to the unique design of the Cybertruck — or the culture of Tesla. It remains to be seen whether Tesla sales are costly.
