Tesla has a lot lined up for the future, but thanks to several delays we have absolutely no idea when those new products are coming. That’s especially true of the Cybertruck, which was originally supposed to launch last year, but now isn’t expected until this fall at the earliest.
Tesla has just announced it will release its earnings report for Q4 2021 on January 26. Elon Musk previously revealed that he would return to this call, despite claims he was skipping them from now on, to offer an update on Tesla’s product roadmap.
Which is a good thing, because it means we’ll start to get an idea of what to expect from Tesla — both this year and beyond.
Obviously the elephant in the room is the Cybertruck, which has fallen into the pit of delays like so many Tesla cars before it. The truck was supposed to start rolling off the production line at Gigafactory Austin late last year, ready for volume production in 2022. However, Tesla chose to prioritise production of the Model Y at the Texas plant, leaving Cybertruck production in limbo.
In the past Musk and Tesla have pointed out that the Cybertruck’s unique design, namely the all-steel exoskeleton frame, required a whole new casting process — one that had yet to be finalized. Likewise the Tesla CEO said that a shortage in 4680 battery production apparently made it impossible to build the truck for an affordable price.
Recently the company removed Cybertruck specs and pricing from its website, which didn’t bode well for its release. But this earnings call is a perfect opportunity for Tesla to answer some burning questions. We’ll also likely hear more about extended Model Y production, happening in Austin and Berlin, which has been going on for a few months now.
But those aren’t the only vehicles Tesla has in the pipeline. There’s also the perpetually-delayed second generation Tesla Roadster, the Tesla Semi truck and the mysterious $25K hatchback Musk announced last year.
The Roadster has been in the works for over a decade now, and in 2011 Musk suggested the second generation model could go into production by 2014. More teases happened over the following years, until the car was announced at the same time as the Tesla Semi in 2017 — aiming for a 2020 launch. Further delays pushed the car back to late 2021, then 2022 and now 2023.
Meanwhile the Semi looks to be close to hitting the streets, with low volume production already starting at Tesla's Nevada plant. There was even speculation that the first few units could be delivered, to PepsiCo no less, before the end of last year. However, it’s not clear whether that happened or not — not that ordinary people will be buying one of these trucks. After the Cybertruck, this is the upcoming vehicle we expect to hear the most about on January 26.
As for the fabled hatchback, which would see Tesla actually lower its pricing for once, that remains a mystery. Musk announced the car would be coming sometime in 2023, though that was before the latest string of delays. Don’t expect to hear a lot about this particular car, though there may well be a cursory mention — and possibly even an update on its launch window.
We’ll bring you more news once the earnings call actually takes place in just under two weeks.
