NEXT STAGE: New in 2023

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's wedge-shaped "North American ass-kicker" has been delayed again because of supply chain shortages pummeling nearly every automaker, as well as late changes to the program, according to sources and media reports.

The electric pickup was originally scheduled to debut in late 2021, once the company completes the Austin, Texas, factory that will build it. But Musk reportedly delayed the launch to late 2022, with volume production not coming until late 2023.

Tesla now aims to start initial production of the Cybertruck by the end of the first quarter of 2023, pushing back a revised plan to begin output in late 2022, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters in Jan. 2022. Tesla is changing features and functions on the electric pickup to make a compelling product as competition heats up in the highly profitable segment, Reuters reported.

Tesla is now expected to begin limited output of the Cybertruck in the first quarter of 2023 before increasing output, Reuters reported.

Musk has said the ramp-up will be complicated by the amount of new technology coming to the pickup. Crucially, the delay means Ford Motor Co. will beat the Cybertruck to market with the electric F-150 in spring 2022. Once it ramps up, Musk has said, Tesla could build 250,000 to 300,000 Cybertrucks annually.