After multiple years of delays, it looks like the Cybertruck is finally on its way to consumers. On early Saturday morning, Tesla tweeted out a photo of a Cybertruck that recently rolled off the company’s Giga Texas assembly line in Austin. “First Cybertruck built at Giga Texas!” the automaker said of the image.
As Electrek points out, the vehicle in question is likely a production intent model Tesla designed to identify the most efficient way of making the new vehicle at scale. The fact the company shared a photo of a finished Cybertruck would suggest it’s on track to meet the most recent timeline Elon Musk set for the oft-delayed pickup.
First Cybertruck built at Giga Texas! 🤠 pic.twitter.com/ODRhHVsd0t
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 15, 2023
At the start of the year, Musk predicted Cybertruck volume manufacturing would begin in 2024, adding limited production would likely kick off “sometime this summer.” More recently, he told investors Tesla would hold a Cybertruck delivery event in the third quarter of 2023. “[It] takes time to get the manufacturing line going, and this is really a very radical product,” Musk said in April. “It’s not made in the way that other cars are made.” To that point, the Cybertruck’s signature stainless steel frame involves complicated manufacturing techniques that aren’t normally used in the production of other cars. Tesla has also encountered repeated bottlenecks involving its next-generation 4680 battery.
The company’s original (and very optimistic) release date for the Cybertruck was 2021. At the time, Tesla said the vehicle would start at $39,900 for the single-motor variant, with the three-motor model coming in at $70,000. The automaker has since said that it has yet to decide on final pricing, and that the cost of the Cybertruck could be based on multiple factors, including supply chain shortages and the state of the economy.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/teslas-texas-factory-has-produced-its-first-cybertruck-161840934.html?src=rss