Tesla has silently stopped taking orders for the cheapest version of the Cybertruck.
Customers can now only book the $99,990 variant and the $119,990 variant.
The news comes as a major blow to Elon Musk’s plans to produce 200,000 units of the Cybertruck annually.
In 2019, Musk claimed a $40,000 Cybertruck will soon hit the market and will be able to travel 500 miles on a single charge.
It took him 4 years to deliver the first Cybertruck.
Problems scaling up due to the unique design
Merely a year after the first delivery, the company continues to have problems scaling up due to the unique design of the vehicle.
Many of the people who were part of the ‘million bookings’ claimed by Elon Musk still haven’t ordered their trucks as they wait for a cheaper version.
They will now have to wait much longer as Tesla is having problems. What exactly those problems are is still unclear. It could just be that the cheaper version is not financially feasible for the company at this point. Or the company’s more expensive variants are still sitting in the inventory in large numbers.
Sam Abuelsamid, who is an analyst at Guidehouse Insights, believes it’s the latter.
They’re sitting on a lot of inventory of two-motor and three-motor trucks right now.
The analyst believes Tesla has realized that the demand for the Cybertruck is a lot less than a million vehicles.
This has prompted the company to stop selling the cheaper version.
In June this year, the company also had its fourth Cybertruck recall.
The recalls have added to the uncertainty regarding the success of the vehicle.
As Tesla fans and enthusiasts get over the initial hype, it is becoming clear that the Cybertruck will remain a problematic vehicle for its owners.
This does not bode well for future sales, especially now that the truck also isn’t available for cheap.
Some have also speculated that the company has outright stopped working on the $39,900 model.
However, the lead engineer in charge of Tesla Cybertrucks did confirm on X that the model was not canceled.
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— Wes (@wmorrill3) August 10, 2024
Deliveries for expensive variants will happen this year
The only upside for Tesla fans right now is that the deliveries for the expensive variants will happen this year, instead of the next.
As good as that is for the would-be owners, investors are probably going to look at it negatively as it clearly shows the company is sitting on a large inventory.
Of course, it could also mean that the company has scaled up production successfully but that seems unlikely given the fact that the cheapest Cybertruck isn’t up for sale.
In short, Tesla’s uncertainty and volatility both for car owners and investors continue. The company hasn’t made an official announcement on this news but investors shouldn’t hold their breath and will be better off pricing in the worst-case scenario.
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