Are Tesla Cybertruck Delays Imminent? Will Model Y Get 4680s?

Tesla made the Semi delay official, so what's up with the Cybertruck and Model Y?

Tesla Cybertruck Reveal

Steven Loveday

By: Steven Loveday

Jul 27, 2021 at 1:21pm ET

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You've probably heard by now that Tesla has officially delayed its all-electric Semi truck. The company announced this in its Q2 2021 financial report. The Semi program is now shifted to 2022. Tesla also noted that the Model Y is still on track for Berlin and Austin, and the Cybertruck will follow.

Other related news from the Q2 report and conference call confirms that Tesla is making major progress on its 4680 battery cells. However, there's still work to be done before the company can reach volume production.

As we've said many times before, Tesla's 4680 cells are integral to Semi and Cybertruck production. They were supposed to be integral in the Model S Plaid+, though Tesla simply canceled that car, likely due to the 4680 situation. Elon Musk promised that Model Y crossover coming out of Texas and Berlin will also have 4680 cells.

While the Model Y is arguably fine without 4680 cells or a structural pack, people are watching closely to see whether Musk's promises materialize. There's no reason Tesla can't simply cancel the 4680 Model Y much as it did with the Plaid+. The automaker could simply say the current Model Y is fine as is, and no one needs 4680s, so it's saving the cells for the Semi and Cybertruck.

At any rate, as expected, many new articles have evolved based on the information from Tesla's financial report and conference call. Several suggest that the Cybertruck is most certainly delayed. This is partly due to the fact that Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy shared:

“The Cybertruck is currently in its alpha stages."

“We are moving into the beta phases of Cybertruck later this year, and we’ll be looking to ramp that into production in Giga Texas after Model Y [production] is up and going."

Moravy also reiterated that the Cybertruck will have the structural pack and body castings much like the Model Y. Musk followed up with some talk about how hard it is to ramp up manufacturing of something like the Cybertruck.

What's most interesting to us is that Tesla came right out and said the Semi will be pushed back. It seems the company made it clear that the Cybertruck, and perhaps even the 4680 Model Y, will face delays as well, though it never came right out and admitted it. The masses are banking on the Cybertruck and the Model Y, whereas the Semi is a commercial vehicle that's not likely to see ridiculous sales numbers, especially early on.

What do you think?

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At this point, as with most Tesla news, it's just another waiting game. Until Tesla gets to a point that it's not constrained with its current models, and/or sales begin to slow, it really has no reason to rush future projects, aside from appeasing investors and the media.

See These Related Tesla Articles:

Tesla Delays (Again) Semi Launch To 2022, What About Cybertruck?

Tesla's 4680 Cells: Substantial Progress, But...

We'll be keeping a close eye on news related to the Cybertruck. In the meantime, we're eager to learn what you think of all this. When will the first Cybertruck be delivered? Will the 4680 Model Y come to market this year, or ever? Start a conversation in the comment section below.

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