Tesla’s Cybertruck is hard to forget.
In late 2019, Elon Musk took the stage to unveil his company’s latest design, a futuristic, boxy EV truck described by observers as a “large metallic trapezoid.”
In a now-infamous demo of how “breakproof” the Cybertruck’s windows were, an engineer threw a metal ball at the glass — which Musk had described as bulletproof — causing it to unexpectedly shatter.
But Cybertruck’s moment in the sun didn’t end there; the company has reportedly netted about a million pre-orders for the model, production of which was originally planned for this year.
Last month, Musk confirmed that the production goal for the pickup needed to be modified, saying that it won’t actually go into production until late 2022, with volume ramping up in 2023. But since then, Tesla has quietly made some other changes on its website that have the industry speculating that the Cybertruck might be facing further delays … and leaving some questioning whether we’ll ever see it at all.
Electrek first reported that Tesla had removed all Cybertruck configuration and pricing details from its website last week. Previously, Tesla offered three versions of the truck for pre-order, flush with details and add-ons like self-driving features, but now, the only option is to place a refundable $100 deposit on the Cybertruck. All that’s left in terms of configuration detail is a statement telling visitors that they can configure their order next year.
It’s clear that the snarled automotive supply chains of 2021 have resulted in delivery delays for all automakers, so it’s no surprise that an in-development concept gets shoved to the back as Tesla fights other fires. The recent removal of the detailed specs has resulted in speculation that specs and, undoubtedly, prices have changed, which is not a huge surprise, considering everyone’s have.
But others give Tesla less grace, suggesting that the information cleanse could mean the Cybertruck isn’t going to hit primetime for a long time. For example, the move led Mashable to declare that “Elon Musk's meme truck is starting to feel even more like a goof than ever.”