At Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting, Elon Musk gave some hints about the electric automaker’s plans to expand the availability of its Cybertruck to global markets such as Europe and China.
Elon Musk has finally spoken about the European future of the Cybertruck. The firm’s futuristic design pick-up may need to undergo revisions to meet regulatory standards outside of North America. Musk reiterated that the current Cybertruck prototype was designed primarily for the US market.
The billionaire explained that if Tesla had tried to comply with certification requirements in Europe and China from the start, the product would have been “frankly worse”. Instead, the company wants to first focus on ramping up production of the Cybertruck for North America, while working to significantly reduce manufacturing costs through simplification of design and to the optimization of components. “ Going from prototype to mass production is 100 times more difficult than creating the prototype, and reducing production costs by 20% is even more complicated “Musk said.
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We know when the Cybertruck will arrive in Europe
Once Tesla gets through this difficult phase of scaling production for the US version, it plans to apply these lessons to the development of regional variants of the Cybertruck suitable for Europe and China. Musk thinks these global models could be ready for certification “ during the next year “, in 2025.
Europe, in particular, would pose some design problems. Pedestrian safety rules are stricter there in terms of limiting sharp outer edges that could cause serious injuries in the event of a collision. Musk admitted that the original angular design of Tesla’s Cybertruck does not currently comply with these European standardswhich will require possible revisions.
Despite these obstacles, the Cybertruck appears to be generating considerable interest and demand in Europe, based on the crowds Tesla has drawn during its “Odyssey” tour of the vehicle. For impatient US customers, Musk said Tesla could complete deliveries of the special “Cybertruck Foundation” launch series models by the end of the month. The mass launch of standard Cybertruck configurations is then expected to begin in the third quarter.