Tesla’s most affordable electric cars Cybertruck, Semi, and Roadster launches have been postponed to 2023

Tesla has hit the brakes on the improvement of what will become its most affordable electric car – picking to rather focus on its become its most affordable electric car, Cybertruck ute, and Semi heavy vehicle, the launches of which have been postponed to 2023.

Ford, General Motors, and Rivian all have electric pickup trucks in production, yet purchasers anticipating the Tesla Cybertruck should continue to stand by.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk during an earnings call late on Wednesday said the organization won’t launch any new vehicles in 2022 as it focuses on sloping up production of existing models and growing new technologies.

It implies the much-hyped Cybertruck, as well as the second-generation Roadster and Semi tractor truck, will not show up until 2023, at the earliest.

The development of Tesla’s most affordable electric car – estimated to cost $US25,000 ($AU35,000) – has been stopped, and the Cybertruck, Roadster, and Semi have been hit with additional delays amid the semiconductor crisis.

Plans for the affordable Tesla electric car – priced from around $US25,000 (which converts to $AU35,000), about half the cost of the least expensive Model 3 car ($US44,990) – were declared by the CEO Elon Musk in late 2020.

Anyway, the executive has today affirmed Tesla’s least expensive electric vehicle has been required to be postponed.

“We’re not currently working on the $US25,000 car. At some point, we will, but we have enough on our plate right now – too much on our plate, frankly,” Elon Musk said during Tesla’s 2021 financial results presentation.

All things considered, Tesla will focus on the improvement of three beforehand reported vehicle models – the Cybertruck ute, Semi heavy vehicle, and Roadster sports car – some of which were uncovered in concept form over four years prior, however presently can’t seem to enter mass production.

CEO Elon Musk “hopes” these models will go on sale in 2023, adding that presenting new cars in 2022 “would not make sense”, as the semiconductor lack keeps on influencing Tesla – but apparently less significantly than the more extensive global automotive industry.

The electric car expert will likewise keep on developing the Tesla Bot (codenamed Optimus), a controversial human-like robot portrayed during its declaration last year with a human dancing on stage in a head-to-toe bodysuit.

“We will not be introducing any new vehicle models this year – it would not make sense, as we will still be parts constrained,” said Elon Musk.

“We will be [doing] a lot of engineering and tooling to create those vehicles – Cybertruck, Semi, Roadster, Optimus [the Tesla robot] – and be ready to bring those to production, hopefully, next year.”

“That is the most likely, but it is dependent on are able to produce more cars, or fewer cars [in 2022, as a sign of improving semiconductor supply].”

Tesla managed to deliver 936,000 vehicles in 2021, bringing about a record net income of $5.5 billion. The organization has additionally quite recently begun production of Model Y crossovers at its new plant in Texas, which is likewise earmarked to build the Cybertruck. Tesla is additionally near finishing construction of a plant in Germany, which will fabricate the Model 3 and Model Y.

A launch timeline for the mystery affordable Tesla – where it, probably named the ‘Model 2’, could be created – was rarely declared, however, while a few Chinese media reports proposed a 2022 launch, starting production nearer to the middle of the ten years was almost certain.

With Tesla’s resources presently redirected to its other upcoming vehicles, it’s conceivable ‘Model 2’ improvement may not recommence until the three cars launch from 2023 onwards – potentially pushing the affordable Tesla EV back past the middle of this decade.

Elon Musk indicates the ability to fit the new model with ‘Level 4’ autonomous driving technology would define when it goes on sale, explaining: “It’s sort of the wrong question to ask [when the $US25,000 car will launch]. The thing that overwhelmingly matters is, when is the car autonomous.”

To guarantee a lower cost than the Model 3 – possibly almost half that of a base Model 3, valued from $US44,990 overseas, or $59,900 in addition to on-road costs in Australia – the new ‘Model 2’ would be a more modest vehicle, putting it in the sights of the Toyota Corolla, Nissan Leaf, and Cupra Born.

Given new Tesla models typically show up in Australia two or three years in the wake of going on sale overseas, the entry-level car’s appearance in Australia may not happen until near 2030, should its overseas launch be deferred to 2027 or 2028.

Notwithstanding the effect on sales an affordable, mass-market electric car could have, CEO Elon Musk says the “most important product” the electric car creator is creating isn’t a vehicle, but instead the Tesla robot, otherwise called Optimus – which presently can’t seem to be displayed in physical prototype form.

“In terms of priority of product, I think the most important product development we’re doing this year is actually the Optimus [Tesla Bot] humanoid robot.

“This has the potential to be more significant than the vehicle business over time. If you think about the economy, the foundation of the economy is labour. So what happens if you have a labour shortage? I’m not sure what an economy even means at that point. So that’s what Optimus is about.”

When getting some information about the advancement of the Cybertruck – which was captured in prototype form in recent days – Elon Musk said: “There’s a lot of new technology in the Cybertruck that will take some time to work through. There’s a question of what’s the average cost of a Cybertruck and to what degree is that affordable.”

During the call, Elon Musk additionally indicated that the organization is having issues developing the Cybertruck at a price people can afford. The Cybertruck was initially guaranteed to show up later than expected in 2021 with a beginning cost of $39,900, however, Musk in the call said he, “worries about how (do we) make the Cybertruck affordable despite it having all of this awesome technology.”

Tesla has taken out the ordering section for the Cybertruck from its website (you can still reserve one), which might show that the organization is rejigging the electric pickup’s cost. We additionally realize that some of the specs will be changed, as Elon Musk in December announced a new four-motor variant that wasn’t part of the original lineup declared during Cybertruck’s 2019 uncover. Beforehand the lineup topped out with a three-motor variant.

Elon Musk likewise said in the call that the organization isn’t working at present on a planned $25,000 model initially announced in 2020.

Tesla’s most advanced self-driving system, known as Full Self-Driving, is as yet a driver-assist feature for highway driving which requires consistent observing from the driver since errors can happen. A beta rendition intended for metropolitan streets is presently accessible to 60,000 Tesla proprietors in the U.S., which is up from only 2,000 last fall.

At last, Elon Musk additionally referenced Optimus, a humanoid robot controlled by a similar AI technology being created by Tesla’s self-driving system. Musk said the robot could be in production before the finish of 2023, and that he considers it to be a potential solution for labor shortages. He said work in Tesla’s own factories would probably be the first application for the robot and that the technology has the “potential to be more significant than the vehicle business over time.”

Tesla broke sales records in 2021, declaring a total of 936,172 new-car deliveries – however, the organization has cautioned that the semiconductor lack – amid different parts imperatives – could slow or even end development in 2022.