The most highly anticipated vehicle launch of 2023 is getting closer to the start of production. The latest sign the automaker is inching ever closer is the appearance of dozens of rear castings for the electric pickup truck outside Giga Texas.
According to the most recent update from CEO Elon Musk, Tesla is aiming to begin production of the Cybertruck later this summer, with a delivery event targeted for the end of the third quarter, or around September. Musk has said however that production will be slow at first, before ramping in 2024 to meaningful volumes, a move that will be much needed to make a dent in the estimate 1.5+ million preorders.
One of the key elements of that production is the front and rear megacastings. Late last year the 9,000 ton IDRA Giga Press arrived at Giga Texas from Europe, and the automaker moved swiftly to install it, but soon after put up curtains on the windows of the casting area to prevent us from seeing their progress. Based on a sighting just last month we already knew Tesla had started producing the Cybertruck’s front castings, and now we know the automaker has started on the rear castings.
Spotted by drone pilot Joe Tegtmeyer on June 2, we can see dozens of Cybertruck rear castings piled up outside at the north end of the factory.
Another coupe of closer images of the interesting castings on the north end of Giga Texas this morning … what do you think? pic.twitter.com/c7Uws3qgsG
— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) June 2, 2023
The front and rear castings are but just two pieces of the Cybertruck production puzzle, but they are two important ones. The appearance of these castings, along with the ones from last month, show Tesla is testing and calibrating the Giga Press machine to ensure that once production does finally begin, it goes smoothly.
As for the rest of the production, Tesla has already installed most, if not all of the machinery to build an entire Cybertruck. It was back at the beginning of April that Musk said he had just toured the Cybertruck production line, and even then it took him several hours to complete the tour.
Even though production is still so close, we still don’t know the final specs or pricing of the Cybertruck. According to Musk, those will come at the delivery event later this year.
You can watch the full drone flyover below. The rear castings appear at around 29:30.
