The Cybertruck is finally here

Yesterday, Tesla delivered its first Cybertruck pickups to customers. And it’s been a long time coming.

Production challenges: The Cybertruck – initially unveiled at the infamous shattered-window product demo in 2019 – was slated to hit the market in 2021, but encountered years of challenges and delays. And many of these same issues will still need to be worked through for the company to scale up manufacturing.

• For example: the Cybertruck is built with stainless steel, which is strong and heavy but less malleable than the sheet metal typically used for car bodies – and that’s causing problems. Photos of the Cybertruck in the wild have shown misalignments and panel gaps wide enough to stick fingers through.

But Tesla is hoping that gold sits at the end of the Cybertruck rainbow. And there is great potential. Full-size pickup trucks made up ~13% of North American vehicle sales last year, but were responsible for ~40% of profits, according to Wells Fargo.

👀 Looking ahead… Tesla expects to produce 250,000 Cybertrucks per year, but not until at least 2025. The automaker revealed yesterday that the pickup will start at ~$61,000 (~$21,000 more than what was teased a few years ago), with a battery range of up to 340 miles that can be extended to 470 miles with an add-on.