Tesla Cybertruck Might Be Unaffordable

Author: Geoffrey Ejiga

Are you a Tesla fan, or are you just interested in Tesla products like their Cybertruck? Then brace yourself because you might not happy with this. Tesla is planning to increase the price of its Cybertruck, and Elon Musk has confirmed this. 

We did some digging and gathered some relevant data that you might be interested in. 

Tesla’s Cybertruck May be More Expensive than originally planned

Tesla’s Cybertruck has fascinated many people, while some ridicule the car for its odd design. But one thing everybody admired was Cybertruck’s extremely attractive price, which was $39,000 when it was initially announced in 2019.

However, Elon Musk (Tesla’s CEO) recently stated that “things have changed” since Cybertruck’s inception.

During Tesla’s shareholder meeting, Elon Musk specifically mentioned that the Cybertruck’s price and specs will change due to inflation and other related issues. 

Musk did hype the Cybertruck during the event, but he did admit that the price increase was a bit of bad news.

Musk also mentioned that the Cybertruck will be in the volume production phase by the middle of 2023. But their target may shift again as it did before. 

At first, the production of the Cybertruck was to begin late last year (2021). However, Tesla announced a production delay that would last until 2022, but the delay has now been extended to 2023.

As Tesla’s production stalls, their competitors like Rivian and Ford are making plans to launch their electric pickups, with Ford aiming to assemble 150,000 F-150 Lightnings by next year (2023).

Elon Musk didn’t give many details besides specifying that the price of the Cybertruck has changed. 

But in 2019, the company mentioned it would be releasing three versions of the Cybertruck, which are: 

• Cybertruck version 1 at $39,900. It consists of a single motor rear-wheel drive with a range of 250 miles, the ability to reach zero to 60mph within 6.5 seconds, and a towing capacity of 7,500 pounds.
• Cybertruck version 2 at $49,900. It uses a dual motor all-wheel drive with a range of 300 miles, reaches zero to 60mph within 4.5 seconds, and has a 10,000-pound towing capacity.
• Cybertruck version 3 at $69,900. It features a triple-motor all-wheel drive with a range of 500 miles, can reach zero to 60 mph within 2.9 seconds, and has a towing capacity of 14, 000 pounds.

For now, we’ll have to wait until 2023 to find out if all these versions will make it to production. Another thing most of its enthusiasts are curious about is its number of reservations. 

By June 2020, the number of reservations was estimated to be around 650,000, but it seems the number has significantly grown since that time. Back in May 2021, Electrek suggested that the number of Cybertruck reservations grew to 1 million. But they say this number may currently be close to 1.5 million.

Meanwhile, the company recently raised its prices once again. This time the price increase was for Tesla non-vaporware EVs (excluding their Model 3). 

On another note, Tesla will be a bit excited by the recent climate deal proposed by U.S Senate Democrats. If passed, the deal will terminate the cap of 200,000 vehicles sold to initiate the phaseout of the tax credit worth $7,500. 

It’s worth noting that Tesla is the first company to sell 200,000 electric vehicles, thereby initiating the tax credit phaseout.

Also, the legislation seems to be restricting eligibility for credits to EVs having a price higher than $55,000 on new cars, and $80,000 on SUVs and pickups. This requires the company to price its Cybertruck accordingly.

A Final Word 

For now, we have to wait to see which versions of the Cybertruck will make it to the market, and what their prices will be. Nevertheless, there are chances that the product will be officially launched in 2023.