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Tesla Cybertruck Hot Wheels models enter ‘production hell’ with delivery delays

Credit: Mattel Creations

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While construction on Tesla’s Cybertruck factory, Giga Texas, seems to be moving on schedule, Hot Wheels appears to be experiencing some form of “production hell” of its own with the 1:10 and 1:64 scale versions of the all-electric pickup truck. Recent emails to preorder holders of the Tesla Cybertruck Hot Wheels edition revealed that their orders would be delayed to May 2021

Both the 1:10 and 1:64 Hot Wheels Cybertruck models are sold out and were initially listed with an expected ship date of December 2020. The five-month delay may remind early Model 3 owners of Tesla’s production hell in 2018. At the time, Tesla Model 3 reservation holders also had to exercise some patience as the company struggled to ramp the mass production of its all-electric sedan. 

Redditor u/melancholicricebowl, who is also a Model 3 owner, shared an email about his limited edition 1:10 scale Hot Wheels R/C Cybertruck reservation. It stated that his order would be delayed and asked him to re-confirm the order. A similar email for the same Reddit user’s 1:64 scale Hot Wheels R/C Cybertruck order was sent later.

Official confirmation that Hot Wheels 1:10 Cybertruck has been delayed to May 2021 from r/teslamotors

The email concerning the Redditor’s 1:10 Hot Wheels Cybertruck stated there were production issues with the hobby grade-radio-controlled Cybertruck due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mattel Creations also decided to change the product’s battery specifications. 

“Battery spec update: Due to production challenges related to COVID-19, we wanted to share a change in the Cybertruck’s battery specifications. The new battery is a 9.6v @ 3Ah LiFePO4 model, with one hour of charge time and 30 minutes of run time. Don’t worry, this change shouldn’t affect its overall performance – it just means that it can reach up to 250mph scale speed!” the email stated.

The battery update may be a bold move for Mattel Creations, but one that might be appreciated by Tesla fans. Hot Wheels’ mini Cybertruck iteration will be equipped with a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery, similar to the China-Made Model 3 Standard Range Plus produced in Shanghai.

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(Credit: Mattel Creations)

It seems like Mattel Creations will be giving Hot Wheels Cybertruck preorder holders an authentic Tesla experience, matching the EV company’s constant desire to improve the performance of their vehicles. 

The email about the 1:10 scale Hot Wheels Cybertruck also included a link to its carrying case. The Reddit user who shared the information commented on the delay, stating: “A bit disappointing that we didn’t get an update until now.”

To re-confirm a Hot Wheels Cybertruck order with Mattel, Redditor u/duckduckohno advises reservation holders to include their order number, order details, ship date, name, addressed, and confirmation number in their response.

Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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Elon Musk

SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before

SpaceX’s Starship flew successfully Friday, landing both stages and deploying its first Starlink V3 satellites.

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Starship’s thirteenth test flight delivered exactly what SpaceX needed with a clean liftoff, two successful stage recoveries, and the first real payload the vehicle has ever carried to space. Booster 20 and Ship 40 lifted off at 5:51 p.m. CT from Starbase, and by the time the mission wrapped roughly an hour later, both halves of the rocket had done exactly what they were supposed to do.

Booster 20 separated from Ship 40 a few minutes into the flight and stuck a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico about six minutes after liftoff. That is a meaningful turnaround from Flight 12 in May, when the booster lost several engines during its boostback burn before a hard water landing attempt.


Starship 40’s performance was arguably the bigger win. The vehicle deployed the first 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites Starship has ever carried, then flew a suborbital arc to a landing in the Indian Ocean that SpaceX commentator Dan Huot called the company’s softest splashdown yet. “This is a dream scenario for this team that’s trying to get this heat shield data,” Huot said on the live broadcast, according to Space.com’s live coverage. “I’m a little over the moon right now. Wow. Lucky number 13.”

Unlike the mass simulators SpaceX flew on Flight 12, these were production Starlink V3 satellites, meant to extend solar arrays and antennas and attempt to link with the broader constellation before reentering minutes later. Getting real hardware through a full deploy sequence on only the second flight of the V3 generation keeps Starship on schedule for the payload work NASA is counting on for future Artemis lunar landings.

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 25, 2026

The flight also arrives at a moment when SpaceX needed a win. SPCX has traded below its $135 IPO price since mid-July, as Teslarati reported when the mission slipped to Friday, and short interest has climbed to roughly a third of the tradable float. A clean flight will not fix a balance sheet, but it does answer the one question SpaceX absolutely needed answered this week: whether the fixes made after the July 16 abort would hold up under real flight conditions. They did, on both stages, on the first try after the redesign.

SpaceX has not set a target date for Flight 14, though the company has said it wants to push toward an orbital attempt on the next mission. After Friday, that goal looks a lot more within reach.

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Tesla’s Supercharger Diner probably just secured more locations

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tesla diner
Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles dominated the company’s global usage rankings after just one year, proving the concept is more than just a one-off novelty location that will fade away.

The performance could incite the company to build more locations, something that CEO Elon Musk has hinted at for some time.

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner delivered 21.2 GWh of energy in its first year of operation, the company’s head of Charging, Max de Zegher, revealed on X. Of the top 10 most utilized Supercharger locations in Tesla’s global infrastructure, the Diner in Los Angeles was the most used by drivers, and it wasn’t particularly close:

On its launch day one year ago, nobody was too sure what the Tesla Diner would be about. It seemed like an interesting concept, and considering it had been in the works for years, it was a highly anticipated launch that many were looking forward to.

Based on its success, we could see additional Diners with Superchargers built throughout the United States, and potentially beyond. Musk has said on several occasions that the company would be willing to bring the Diner idea to more markets.

Tesla makes major change at Supercharger Diner amid epic demand

Of the markets that Musk has mentioned, both Palo Alto and Austin have come to be perceived as ideal selections. However, there are no concrete plans as of now to build new Supercharger Diners anywhere; the location on Santa Monica Boulevard will remain the exclusive spot to pick up Tesla-inspired eats, at least for the time being.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla short sellers win big after shares fall after earnings

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A red Tesla Roadster driving around a turn
(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla short sellers won big following the company’s massive fall on Wall Street after it reported subpar Earnings on Wednesday.

Tesla short sellers collected about $4.12 billion in single-day profits on Thursday, according to BloombergShares fell as much as 15 percent during Thursday’s session. It closed as one of the worst days for Tesla on Wall Street in the past three years.

Investors sold off the stock after Tesla said it would aggressively direct its spending toward AI and its Optimus robot project. The company had record revenues, which were driven by one of the strongest quarters in terms of vehicle deliveries in company history.

However, it missed EPS estimates by reporting just $0.33, a far cry from the $0.53 analysts expected.

S3 Partners reported that about 3 percent of Tesla’s outstanding stock is sold short. Managing Director at S3, Ihor Dusaniwsky, provided the short seller’s potential profit, as well as another figure: shorts have likely had paper gains of $8.92 billion this year, as Tesla shares are down 30 percent in 2026.

Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue

Tesla has burned short sellers many times in the past, but the company’s latest Earnings Call was a chance for those skeptics to taste some payback. Although the company gave some very transparent information regarding future projects, the rollout of Robotaxi, Optimus, and Semi, many investors took their profits on Thursday.

Notable short sellers like Michael Burry have been transparent about their skepticism around Tesla shares. Burry just revealed three weeks ago that he had opened up a new short on the stock, stating he shorted Tesla shares at $416.22. “Happy it jumped back to this level,” he said in a blog post.

At the time of publication, Tesla shares were down about 3 percent and the stock was trading at $309.92.

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