Elon Musk: 'We dug our own grave with the Cybertruck'

Elon Musk announced the Cybertruck in 2019.
Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the Cybertruck’s unique design has made scaling up production a challenge.
He also said that it will be some time before the Cybertruck is cash flow positive. 
The pickup has faced numerous delays and production challenges since it was announced in 2019.

Elon Musk said that Tesla “dug its own grave” with the Cybertruck, as he warned that it would take years for the company to ramp up production of the electric pickup.

Speaking on Tesla’s Q3 earnings call on Wednesday, the Tesla CEO said that the Cybertruck’s unique design meant the company faces immense challenges in scaling production, with Tesla aiming to produce a quarter of a million trucks a year by 2025.

“We dug our own grave with the Cybertruck,” Musk said.

It’s “one of those special products that comes along only once in a long while. And special products that come along once in a long while are just incredibly difficult to bring to market to reach volume, to be prosperous,” he added.

Musk said that he wanted to “temper expectations” for the electric truck’s imminent launch, which Tesla announced would be on November 30.

He warned that the challenges of scaling up production meant that it would likely be around 18 months before the Cybertruck is cash flow positive.

“I do want to emphasize that there will be enormous challenges in reaching volume production with the Cybertruck and then making the Cybertruck cashflow positive — this is simply normal,” he said.

“When you’ve got a product with a lot of new technology or any brand new vehicle program, especially one that is as different and advanced as the Cybertruck, you will have problems proportionate to how many new things you’re trying to solve at scale,” he added.

The launch of the Cybertruck comes at a crucial time for Tesla. Although the company dominates the EV market, its market share has slipped in recent years as competitors like Ford and Rivian expand their operations.

The Cybertruck is seen as vital for Tesla to fend off this burgeoning competition. First announced in 2019, the futuristic pickup truck was expected to ship in 2021, but has experienced several delays as Tesla grappled with the vehicle’s unique design and the complexity of producing it at scale.

According to CNBC, Elon Musk sent an email to Tesla employees in August saying that the Cybertruck should be as precisely designed as a Lego brick, with measurements that could not vary by more than 10 microns. A micron is equivalent to one-thousandth of a millimeter.

Earlier versions of the pickup seen in the wild have been called out for scratching and finish issues by prospective buyers, as well as being fingerprint magnets because of their stainless steel body.

Despite this, demand for the Cybertruck is through the roof, according to Musk, who said on Wednesday that over one million people have reserved the truck.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider made outside normal working hours.