Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill on Saturday confirmed on X that the rear-wheel drive version of Tesla Inc.’s TSLA stainless steel truck has not been canceled but will be available later.
What Happened: Last week, Tesla revamped its Cybertruck order page to allow customers to order the Foundation series instead of the non-Foundation version of the truck.
The foundation series refers to a limited and pricier edition of the Cybertruck with laser-etched foundation series badges and premium accessories. The company intends to make it only for the first year of deliveries.
Until recently, only customers who had a prior reservation for the Cybertruck could get a foundation series. In October, a month before Tesla commenced Cybertruck deliveries, company CEO Elon Musk had said that there were a million reservations for the vehicle.
Unlike the non-foundation series Cybertruck which has three variants, the foundation series comes with only two variants: the all-wheel drive variant starting at $99,990 and the more premium Cyberbeast variant starting at $119,990.
The non-foundation series has a third variant called the rear-wheel drive version starting at $60,990 and slated to be available in 2025.
The latest website revamp has given rise to two concerns- first on demand for the vehicle and the second on the availability of the rear-wheel drive variant.
Availability Of Rear-Wheel Drive Cybertruck: “There was never a single motor RWD Foundation Series. For now, the configurator only shows Foundation Series. This does not mean the RWD is cancelled,” Tesla enthusiast Sawyer Merritt wrote on X on Friday in response to doubts on whether the rear-wheel drive variant has been canceled.
Morrill backed Merritt, saying, “This.”
Demand Concerns: Musk had previously said that production, and not demand, is the key hindrance to scaling deliveries of the Cybertruck. However, he then said that the company intends to deliver 250,000 units starting in 2025.
However, as of the end of the second quarter, the company had sold only a few thousand Cybertruck but has already opened the option to order the foundation series vehicle on its website instead of banking on its allegedly huge reservation base, giving rise to the question whether demand is indeed as huge as Musk said it is.
During its unveiling in November 2019, the company promised more range on the vehicle and cheaper pricing, with the cheapest version starting at just $39,900. However, once the company commenced deliveries in November 2023, it revealed way higher pricing and lower range.
This seems to have disappointed reservation holders who are possibly also waiting to order cheaper versions of the vehicle instead of opting for the more expensive foundation series.
Only last week, Musk reiterated the need to make the vehicle cheaper and said, “It's a great truck. We need to make it more affordable in the years to come.”
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