The $40,000 Tesla Cybertruck Isn't Happening and We're Not Surprised at All

The Tesla Cybertruck definitely made waves when it was first announced due to its polarizing design and the big performance claims made by Elon Musk. Tesla even went as so far as to release a video of a Cybertruck handily beating a (gas) Ford F-150 in a bout of tug-0-war. Performance antics aside, the Cybertruck's most impressive number was its claimed MSRP. When Tesla first launched the pre-order site for the truck, the starting price was listed at $39,900 for an entry-level single-motor model.

However, in October 2021, Tesla removed that price from the Cybertruck order site and left the option to pay a $100 deposit to reserve an order and suggested that production would start in 2022. By now, we all know that didn't happen and the Cybertruck's release continued to be pushed back—it's now expected to reach customers by the end of this year, a long way from the 2019 debut. Despite the $39,900 price being removed from the website, Cybertruck reservation holders likely hoped that EV would keep a sub-$40,000 price tag.

However, if anyone was still holding fast to those hopes—even in light of the obvious—details have come to light all but confirming there won't be a "cheap" Cybertruck, just like there no longer is any "cheap" Ford F-150 Lightning (which also originally went on sale with a $40,000-ish base price that later rose to $60,000-plus), nor will there be a similarly "cheap" Chevrolet Silverado EV, which also promised a low, sub-$40,000 MSRP that is looking ever more elusive. The $40,000 electric pickup truck, it seems, is a fantasy, undone by market pressures on new car prices generally and supply constraints specific to EVs.

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A NHTSA document surfaced by a member of the Cybertruck Owners Club (viaCar and Driver) illustrating how to decode a Tesla VIN number is the latest nail in the $40,000 Cybertruck's coffin. Why? The document states that the 8th digit in the VIN denotes the drive unit. There are only two options available: dual-motor or triple-motor. The document also reveals the Cybertruck's Gross Vehicle Weight Raiting (GVWR). The GVWR doesn't tell us the exact weight of the Cybertruck, but allows an educated guess as to what the final curb weight will be.

The dual-motor Cybertruck has a 8,001 to 9,000-pound GVWR while the triple-motor trim has a 9,001 to 10,000-pound GVWR. That seems to suggest that the dual-motor Cybertruck will weigh somewhere around 7,000 pounds while the triple-motor will come in around 8,000 pounds. All together this seems like solid confirmation that a lighter-weight, $39,000 single-motor Tesla Cybertruck won't be available—at least not yet.

Musk himself virtually confirmed the culling of the single-motor Cybertruck from the launch line up during the 2022 Tesla annual stockholder meeting in Texas. During the Q&A portion of the meeting, a shareholder identified as Blake P. asked, "When the Cybertruck pricing is released, will all who ordered before it was taken down be grandfathered in, or have to reconfigure?"

Musk replied, "A lot has changed [since 2019, when the Cybertruck was announced]. The specs and pricing will be different; I hate to give a little bit of bad news." Musk went on to discuss economic inflation and "various issues" associated with it. Considering that, and Tesla's history of walking back attempts at making its cars cheaper, it is safe to infer that "different," likely means "more expensive."

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It should also be noted that Musk skirted answering the shareholder's question about early reservation holders being guaranteed the original 2019 price, so we'd say the writing was on the wall that no one would be getting a $40,000 pickup even back then. Could an affordable, single-motor Cybertruck still happen? Maybe, but with all the issues plaguing the Cybertruck's development and launch, it seems unlikely Tesla could afford to lose much money on $40,000 versions anytime soon, let alone on pricier models.

Musk attempted to reassure shareholders and Cybertruck reservation holders by claiming that the EV will be a "damn fine machine." He also gave a manufacturing update stating that the Cybertruck is on track for mid-2023 production at the Texas Gigafactory. We now know that the first deliveries for the Tesla Cybertruck will happen on November 30th, 2023 at what is likely to be a bombastic event at the Texas Gigafactory. Though, it is certain that none of those deliveries will match up to the originally promised price of the Cybertruck.

This story was originally published August 9, 2022 and has since been updated to reflect firmer details about the Cybertruck's pricing.