Tesla’s inclusion of the Cybertruck in the Q3 2020 Earnings Call was relatively absent. That is until New Street Research’s Pierre Ferragu asked about the all-electric pickup. The question from Ferragu revealed an interesting response from CEO Elon Musk, who stated that the Cybertruck was undergoing “small improvements” that will improve the originally unveiled design.
When Ferragu stepped up to the microphone during the Call, he thanked Tesla for accepting his question but wanted more information on the Cybertruck. The pickup was not mentioned in the Update Letter because relatively nothing new has come out about it recently. Additionally, Tesla cannot begin production of the vehicle, nor update its manufacturing processes until Giga Texas is built.
However, that does not mean that Tesla isn’t working to improve the design behind the scenes.
Musk said he and Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen were at the company’s Design Studio in Hawthorne, California, just last week, talking about possible tweaks for the Cybertruck.
Musk said:
“I was in the studio actually on — last Friday with Franz and the team just going over just sort of some improvements to the Cybertruck. Generally, at Tesla, we really aim to make the car that is delivered better than the car that is unveiled. Because it always drive me crazy, car companies would unveil these awesome looking cars, like, great, you can’t wait until they make that. And then the car they actual make is like much worse, and — but it’s just — it’s like really disappointing? So man, we always want to make the car that we deliver be better than the car we unveil. And that’s the goal with the Cybertruck. So there’s like a lot of small improvements compared to what was unveiled. I think it’s going to be better than what we showed.”
Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck in a very public event last November, which revealed the electric automaker’s plans to develop one of the most powerful and robust pickups on the market. However, the design was far from finalized.
Musk told Teslarati in February that the dimensions of the Cybertruck would be adjusted slightly, going from 84 inches to “closer to 82.” He also hinted toward a smaller Cybertruck just after the unveiling event last November.
The Tesla CEO even stated that an idea to roll down the rear window and wall to allow for more cargo room would be “worth considering.”
Ultimately, if any changes are made to the Cybertruck, Musk insists that they improve the design of the vehicle. After all, the estimated 750,000 pre-orders that the truck has received over the past 11 months gives the indication that many people are fine with the current design. However, if Tesla is going to modify the pickup’s design, it will be better than what was unveiled last November.
Check out Teslarati’s video of the Cybertruck’s first ride after the unveiling event last year.