A new rumor from @WholeMarsBlog suggests, Tesla is considering scraping the single motor Cybertruck and replacing It With A New 4 Motor Variant
Lately, Tesla has been making several Cybertruck linked moves. The EV maker recently started selling Cybertruck themed socks, and after a few days, Tesla introduced a $50 Cybertruck inspired hospital-grade stainless steel Cyberwhistle which sold out within minutes.
And just yesterday, Tesla began selling a Cybertruck inspired miniature ATV with 150lbs max carrying capacity and 15 miles range. Tesla calls the new ATV, developed in partnership with Radio Flyer, the Cyberquad for Kids.
In addition to the Cybertruck inspired merch, in the last few months, Tesla has also been making significant changes to Cybertruck’s production timeline.
The Cybertruck was originally scheduled to start production by the end of this year however, the worldwide parts shortage coupled with battery constraints have forced Tesla to delay the start of production to the end of 2022.
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Tesla has also recently removed all pricing and variants of the Cybertruck from the company’s online configurator.
This move sparked rumors Tesla is planning to redesign and raise the price of Cybertruck. This made some sense given the single motor Cybertruck had become the cheapest Tesla you can buy before pricing was removed from the online configurator.
And now a new rumor circulating on Twitter suggests more detailed reasoning for why Tesla removed all Cybertruck trims from the online configurator. According to the rumor, Tesla is considering getting rid of the single motor Cybertruck and replacing it with a new higher-end 4 motor variant.
The rumor was first reported by @WholeMarsBlog who is well connected to Tesla insiders however, he admitted the source who shared the information with him has no track record.
Still, Tesla deciding to not bring the single motor Cybertruck to production makes a lot of sense given the RWD Cybertruck used to be the cheapest Tesla you can order. Even the much smaller and less capable Standard Range Plus Model 3 is $3,000 more expensive.
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Just in 2021, all variants of Tesla’s vehicles have seen price increases ranging from $6,000 for the Standard Range Plus Model 3 to over $10,000 for the refreshed Model S & X.
By now you might be thinking why doesn’t Tesla just increase the price and still sell the RWD Cybertruck. However, after Tesla opened reservations for the Cybertruck, the overwhelming interest ended up being for the more expensive and powerful dual motor and tri-motor variant.
As a result, Tesla moved production of the higher trim variants sooner and pushed production of the rear-wheel-drive Cybertruck back.
This means there is relatively limited demand for the RWD Cybertruck. However, the “relatively limited demand” should be emphasized as we have covered in a previous exclusive report, Tesla has close to 3 million preorders for the Cybertruck.
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Still, Tesla relies on economies of scale to lower the price of the cheapest options of the company’s vehicles. However, if the higher trim variants are more popular, then the value proposition for those versions will be much better than the single motor variant.
As for introducing a higher trim quad-motor variant of the Cybertruck, this also makes sense given the Cybertruck’s competition, the Rivian R1T and the Hummer EV, both offer 4 motor variants. Having a motor at each wheel also makes sense as it unlocks features such as tank turns.
As of now, this is merely a cogent rumor. However, we will be sure to keep you up to date as more information comes out. Make sure to visit our site torquenews.com/Tesla regularly for the latest information.
So what do you think? Should Tesla forgo the RWD Cybertruck for a quad motor version? What improvements would you think an additional motor will bring? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below.
For more information check out: Tesla Giga Shanghai To Produce 1 Million Cars By April 2022 Also, see Elon Says Cybertruck Will Bring Future Technologies To Now, Promising Update
Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.