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The Dream of a Sub-$40,000 Tesla Cybertruck Is Dead

Elon Musk says 'a lot has changed.'

 & Matthew Humphries Former Senior Editor

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During the Tesla annual meeting of stockholders held yesterday, Elon Musk confirmed that the Cybertruck will no longer carry a base price of $39,900.

As part of the meeting held in front of a live audience, Musk answered a number of questions posed by shareholders. One of those asked if the original Cybertruck pricing would be "grandfathered" for those who already placed an order.

Musk confirmed it would not, while reminding everyone a reservation only cost $99 back in 2019. He then went on to say, "It was unveiled in 2019 ... a lot has changed since then, so the specs and the pricing will be different. I hate to give a little bit of bad news, but I think there's no way to have anticipated quite the inflation we have seen and various issues."

For reference, when the Cybertruck was first unveiled three years ago, it cost $39,900 for the single motor model, $49,900 for the dual motor model, and $69,900 for the the tri-motor model. Adding the self-driving option was going to increase the price by $7,000.

Few will be surprised to hear that pricing will be higher, especially when you consider all that has happened since 2019 combined with the fact we aren't expecting the Cybertruck to be manufactured until at least 2023 now.

The second part of the question asked when pricing would be released, which Musk did not answer. There's no way he could with any confidence at the moment based on inflation, ongoing supply chain and gigafactory problems, and the production time line still being up in the air.

About Our Expert

Matthew Humphries

Matthew Humphries

Former Senior Editor

My Experience

I started working at PCMag in November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.

I hold two degrees: a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a Master's degree in Games Development. My first book, Make Your Own Pixel Art, is available from all good book shops.

My Areas of Expertise

  • PC components and system building
  • Raspberry Pi
  • Software development
  • Storage technology
  • Video games and gaming hardware

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