Tesla Cybertruck enters final testing and certification phase

Tesla provided an update on its plans for the Cybertruck pickup truck during its earnings call on Wednesday.

CEO Elon Musk said that a photo posted on Twitter on July 15 of the first Cybertruck recently built at the company's plant in Austin, Texas, is just a pre-production example that will be used for final testing and certification. But he also said he expects deliveries to customers to begin in late 2023.

Musk hinted that production may be low initially, but will increase in 2024. He stressed that many new technologies and proprietary components and processes will be put into the cybertruck.

"We plan to mass produce the cars next year and deliver them by the end of this year."

Cybertruck production was originally scheduled to begin in late 2021. Due to multiple delays, production is behind schedule.

One new technology destined for the electric truck is a battery cell with a higher energy density than the one the company currently uses. Drew Baglino, Tesla's senior vice president of powertrain energy engineering, said during a conference call that the new cells will have 10% higher energy density than what Tesla currently uses in its vehicles.

It is not clear whether the new cells will give Tesla more range than it has already announced; at the 2019 Cyber Truck reveal, Tesla said the truck will offer battery options of 250+ miles, 300+ miles, and 500+ miles It stated.

Tesla also announced a starting price of $39,900 at the 2019 reveal, but this information was removed from Tesla's website in 2021, suggesting that the starting price may be different when the Cybertruck actually goes on sale.

Earlier this week, after Ford lowered the starting sales price of its rival F-150 Lightning to $51,990, Musk commented on Twitter that the Ford is a "good car" but "somewhat expensive."

On Wednesday's earnings call, Tesla said the full-size Cyber truck will be 19 feet long and will fit in more personal garages than comparable rival vehicles, which are usually 20 feet or longer. Tesla claimed that, as far as it knows, the Cybertruck will be the first truck under 19 feet in length with four doors and a cargo bed over 6 feet.