The bottom line is this, the Tesla Cybertruck launch date is delayed until 2022. It was meant to be retail-ready for 2021. Cybertruck was revealed to much amazement as much as bemusement in 2019. The reservations flooded in, over 1M people placed a $100 deposit. And that is the problem, how can you service 1M people in 3 years? You can not, it is impossible, even large car manufactures would have difficulty in managing such an effort. When you take a look at Tesla’s manufacturing history it is possible to extrapolate Cybertruck is way oversubscribed compared to Tesla’s current manufacturing capabilities.

In 2013 Tesla delivered 22K vehicles, by 2017 they hit the 100K mark. By 2020 Tesla managed to deliver close to 500K vehicles to new customers, a considerable rate of production. But if you want a Cybertruck in 2022, and you are not at the top of the list, it may well be 2-4 years before your order is fulfilled. So why is the Cybertruck delayed?

Tesla has to set up the basic manufacturing infrastructure, from tooling to paint shop. That takes time. However, we do know the Tesla pickup is currently in the Alpha stages of testing. In addition, the Cybertruck shares the chassis and structural elements with the Model Y. Tesla is prioritizing the Model Y because it will make more money in the short to medium term.

Even so, as far as we know Model Y reservations totaled around 450K, which begs the question, why didn’t Tesla prioritise the Cybertruck?