The futuristic truck is highly anticipated by EV buyers and car enthusiasts.
A vehicle has never aroused as much enthusiasm in the last decade as the Cybertruck.
Will it look like the prototype unveiled by Elon Musk in November 2019? How innovative will it be? These are the questions that come up among car fans and buyers of electric vehicles who are eager to drive the Cybertruck, which seems to come out of a science fiction movie. The history of the automobile has shown that prototypes are often very different from the vehicle that will be produced in the end.
A Car ‘Made by Aliens’
This does not stop the buzz around the Cybertruck. This buzz is often fueled by Musk, who declared that this vehicle would be the best that Tesla (TSLA) – Get Free Report had ever produced.
The billionaire, who is known for his wild promises, has made sensational claims in recent months regarding the Cybertruck.
“Cybertruck will be almost exactly what was shown. We’re adding rear wheel steering, so it can do tight turns & maneuver with high agility,” the billionaire said on July 2021.
“Other trucks look like copies of the same thing, but Cybertruck looks like it was made by aliens from the future,” Musk posted the same month.
“Better truck than an F-150, faster than a Porsche 911,” he said in November 2019.
Job Postings
Tesla currently markets the Model S and Mode 3 sedans and the Model X and Model Y SUV/crossovers. From December 1, the company will have a fifth vehicle in production: the Semi truck.
The interest in the Cybertruck has never waned despite the shifting production schedule. After postponing the start of production of the Cybertruck, Musk announced last July that it will finally begin in mid-2023 at its factory in Austin, Texas.
It looks like this time around Tesla is going to keep that promise and that timeline. The electric vehicle manufacturer has just posted job offers which indeed confirm that things are on track to have the first Cybertrucks on the roads in June-July 2023.
One of the positions is “Maintenance & Reliability Engineer – BIW, Cybertruck,” noted TheStreet on the careers page of the Tesla website.
“What to Expect,” Tesla wrote in the posting. “The Maintenance & Reliability Engineer is primarily responsible for the design of maintenance procedures, tooling retrofits, performance improvements, and deployment of new processes/equipment in the Cybertruck Body Shop.”
It added that one of the tasks of this position will be to “identify and drive continuous improvement and cost reduction programs.”
Another job offer is looking for a “Senior Equipment Engineer, Joining – BIW, Cybertruck.”
“We are seeking a self-motivated engineer for a position in Body Manufacturing Engineering, a team focused on creating production processes for manufacturing body assemblies and battery enclosure for the Cybertruck,” the company said in the posting.
Job offers also concern the search for “Senior Equipment Engineer Robotics – BIW, Cybertruck,” “Senior Process Engineer – BIW, Cybertruck,” or “Dimensional Engineer – BIW, Cybertruck.”
On these job offers related to the Cybertruck Tesla does not give any indication on the start date unlike most other postings.
These recruitments suggest that things are accelerating around the Cybertruck.
The billionaire first unveiled the electric pickup prototype in November 2019 at a promotional event in Los Angeles.
That presentation was marked by a demonstration of the vehicle’s shatterproof and purportedly bulletproof window. The demo went askew after an aide hurled a metallic ball at the front window and shattered it.
The vehicle has been described as something out of the films “Mad Max” and “Blade Runner.” Musk himself said in 2019 that the Cybertruck had been “influenced partly by ‘The Spy Who Loved Me,'” a reference to the amphibious Lotus Esprit S1 featured in the 1977 James Bond film.
Fierce Competition
Tesla is no longer taking orders for the Cybertruck in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
But the vehicle can still be ordered in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
People can reserve one of the vehicles for a refundable $100 deposit — essentially no commitment for a vehicle that won’t be cheap.
On Nov. 24, 2019, Musk said that Tesla had already received at least 187,000 orders for the Cybertruck. It was five days after the vehicle was unveiled.
The Tesla Cybertruck promises up to 500 miles of electric range, a maximum tow rating of 14,000 pounds, and a base price under $40,000.
Buyers will also have to add Tesla driver assistance system Full Self-Driving for $15,000.
The Cybertruck’s immediate rivals are the Rivian (RIVN) – Get Free Report R1T electric pickup, the GMC Hummer pickup from GM (GM) – Get Free Report and the Chevy Silverado electric pickup. It will also compete against the F-150 Lightning, the electric version of the Ford (F) – Get Free Report F-150 pickup.
