Tesla’s First Electric Pickup Truck Produced, Announces Company

Tesla has announced that its initial production of the Cybertruck electric pickup has finally commenced, albeit almost two years later than originally planned.

The company tweeted a picture on Saturday showing dozens of workers in helmets and yellow vests around the truck.

“The first Cybertruck built in Giga Texas!” Tesla tweeted, including an emoji wearing a cowboy hat. Owner Elon Musk retweeted the message.

Musk unveiled the truck in late 2019, and Tesla had said production would begin in late 2021, though the company has since warned that production would start slowly and in smaller numbers than Tesla’s other vehicles.

With its wedge shape and stainless steel body – what Tesla calls an exoskeleton – the Cybertruck doesn’t look like a traditional pickup truck. Some analysts have pegged it as a niche product without broad appeal.

Musk said in April that the company expected to deliver the first truck probably in the July-September quarter. As with any new product, he said, production would start slowly and then ramp up.

“It takes time to get off the production line,” he said, “and this is a really radical product. It’s not done the same way as other cars. So we’ll see.”

The truck’s 2019 reveals were derailed when a window advertised as unbreakable broke when a spider hit a large metal ball, prompting Musk to speak out.

Tesla initially said it would make three versions of the truck, ranging in price from about $40,000 to $70,000. The company later removed the prices from the page, where customers can decide whether to drop $100 and place an order.

Competitors have plowed the electric car into the market, including the Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian Automotive’s R1T. Both look like traditional pickups.

Tesla is scheduled to report second-quarter financial results on July 19.