On Tesla's Q3 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk warned of how hard Cybertruck production is going to be.
He didn’t use the words “Production Hell,” specifically. But when you hear Tesla CEO Elon Musk talk about the Cybertruck at today’s Q3 2023 earnings call, you almost get the same vibes.
Musk opened today’s call by not only announcing the company’s latest financial results – which saw its 16th consecutively profitable quarter dampened by price cuts and factory downtime – but also being circumspect about its new stainless-steel EV pickup truck.
“I just want to temper expectations for Cybertruck,” Musk said. “It’s a great product, but financially, it will take a year to 18 months before it is a significant, positive cash flow contributor. I wish there was some way to be different but that’s just my best guess.”
He later added: “We dug our own grave with Cybertruck.”
Musk blamed the extremely novel production techniques involved with the truck, as well as the fact that it’s an entirely new model – something Tesla has historically struggled with when designing and releasing products.
“This is simply normal for when you’ve got a product with a lot of new technology, or any brand new vehicle program, but especially one that is as different and advanced as the Cybertruck,” Musk said. “You will have problems proportionate to how many new things you’re trying to solve at scale. So I just want to emphasize that, one, I think this is potentially our best product ever… [but] it’s going to require immense work to reach value production and be cash flow positive at a price that people can afford.”
Few details remain known about the Cybertruck, including how much it will cost. Tesla did say in today’s Q3 report that deliveries are expected to begin in November, but it’s been delayed before. Musk claimed the truck still has more than 1 million reservations, but was cagey on when those trucks may actually arrive in customers’ hands.
“I think we’ll end up with a quarter-million Cybertrucks a year,” Musk said, before adding, “I don’t think we’ll reach that rate next year. I think we’ll probably reach it sometime in 2025.” That would be almost six years since the truck was first unveiled.
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated.
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Keyword: Musk Warns Of 'Insanely Difficult' Tesla Cybertruck Production, Wants To 'Temper Expectations'