Tesla Cybertruck faces more delays

The highly-anticipated Tesla Cybertruck electric pick-up is now slated to enter production in late 2022, slipping from its original start date by around a year.

The latest news comes from EV blog Electrek, citing sources privy to an internal company-wide conference call at Tesla where CEO Elon Musk told employees that production of the radical-looking dual-cab ute won’t start until late 2022.

He’s claimed to have stated the $US39,900 ($A53,600) Cybertruck – which has racked up more than one million pre-orders, including many in Australia – would not begin volume production until later in 2023, due to the extensive new technologies being applied to the vehicle.

That means first Aussie deliveries of the Cybertruck may not commence until mid-decade, given other EVs from the US brand – including the top-selling Tesla Model 3 –  took almost three years to reach Australia after their North American launch.

Set to be built at the company’s ‘Gigafactory’ in Austin, Texas, the Cybertruck’s initial late-2021 production target was blown out to 2022 due to the global semi-conductor shortage affecting a huge number of global industries.

The latest timing means the Cybertruck will be beaten to market by its main rival, the Rivian R1 which looks set for a September 2021 launch in the US.

While no release date has been set for Australia for either vehicle, the Rivian R1T now looks likely to beat the Cybertruck to market in Australia too.

However, Musk insists the wait will be worth it, telling employees the Cybertruck will be a “special project” and compared it to a glitch in the Matrix: “Like if Neo had a car”.

The Tesla Cybertruck was revealed in 2019 and made headlines not only for its unconventional design and monstrous power output, but also its shatter-proof windows – which unfortunately shattered when a metal ball was thrown at one (to demonstrate the tech) at the unveiling.

Dense 200kWh lithium-ion battery packs are expected to be made available for the Cybertruck, which should provide a cruising range of more than 800km, Tesla claims.

Australian buyers can pre-order the vehicle via the official Tesla website with a $150 refundable deposit, with single-, double- and triple-motor variants all on the menu. Aussie buyers will be able to configure their vehicle “as production nears in 2022”, according to information currently on the site.

Top-spec triple-motor Cybertruck models are claimed to accelerate from 0-60mph in less than 3.0 seconds, with a top speed of over 200km/h.

All Tesla Cybertruck models have a payload of 1588kg and the base model is rated to tow 3402kg, while triple-motor versions will have a towing capacity of at least 6350kg (14,000lbs).