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Tesla has reopened Cybertruck ‘Foundation Series’ configurator for some

Credit: Andrew Lake | Tesla CyberTruck group on Facebook

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Tesla seems to have reopened its order configurator for the Cybertruck “Foundation Series” for some users this week, after many lost the ability to configure over the weekend.

As spotted by Sawyer Merritt on Tuesday, some users who were previously unable to configure orders for the Cybertruck Foundation Series have now been able to by selecting “Manage Order” in their Tesla accounts. In response to Merritt’s post on Tuesday, at least two users said they had been able to place an order.

In a message to Teslarati, one user with two reservations also confirmed they were able to place a Cyberbeast order on Tuesday after losing the ability to order over the weekend, and facing an error message when originally attempting to order on Friday evening. The user confirmed an order for a reservation with RN112755xxx, the lower number of two active reservations.

Screenshot from one user who was able to configure their Cybertruck. Credit: Sawyer Merritt

The change comes after some who had been invited to configure their orders were briefly able to see the option to order on Friday, and as some others who hadn’t been invited were still able to see the option to design their Cybertruck in their Tesla account.

Following the news, many who had been invited or were quietly able to place an order through their accounts were faced with an error message when trying to place an order, before the option completely disappeared, seemingly indicating that Tesla had closed orders for the vehicle.

Reports over the weekend also confirmed that initial Foundation Series Cybertruck orders were going out this week, as some observers spotted some of the vehicles being prepared for delivery at a Tesla store in Austin, Texas.

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It isn’t clear how Tesla is deciding who Cybertruck orders are available to, though the highest VIN we’ve seen for a reservation so far was at RN1130XXXXX with the vast majority who managed to place an order having RNs below that.

As confirmed by the automaker’s Head of Design Franz von Holzhausen in a video earlier this week, Tesla has received over two million deposits for the Cybertruck, and many are still eagerly awaiting the ability to order theirs.

At the same time, observers of Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas have noticed that Cybertruck production is gradually ramping up, with large batches of the vehicle being spotted in the plant’s outbound lot over the past week or so.

Updated 12/20/23: Corrected terminology to “RN” in the third and sixth paragraphs, after incorrectly writing that these referred to vehicle VINs.

Tesla Cybertruck production at Giga Texas is slowly ramping up

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Were you able to place an order for the Foundation Series Cybertruck? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.

Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Ford considers drastic move with F-150 Lightning: ‘The demand is just not there’

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Credit: Ford Motor Company

Ford is considering a drastic move with its F-150 Lightning, which was the best-selling EV pickup on the market last quarter, beating out Tesla’s Cybertruck.

Ford has had a tumultuous entrance into its more expanded electric vehicle strategy over the past several years. At one point, the company was widely considered to be the most invested legacy automaker in the transition to electrification, but as the company has seen some real backtracking in terms of its sales and demand, it is cooling down its commitment.

At the end of Q3, it seemed to already be considering making some moves to cool off its EV ambitions, especially as the $7,500 EV tax credit was removed and it appeared that consumers would be less attracted to its vehicles without this sizeable discount.

Now, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, Ford is considering scrapping the F-150 Lightning altogether, as one employee said “the demand is just not there.”

Despite it being the best-selling EV pickup in the U.S. last quarter, the sales simply do not match up with the pricing, and financially, it is not the time to try to dive further into a project that is not making a profit. Ford has been dwindling in its commitment to EVs over the past several quarters, and its profits are reflecting a slowing interest in its electric vehicles.

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Simply put, Ford’s combustion engine lineup of pickups in the F-Series is, by far, the best-selling division of trucks globally. Ford brought an awesome product forth with the Lightning, a mirror of the gas-powered F-Series that had a variety of trim levels for whatever the truck would be used for by the consumer.

However, the demand and sales have caused Ford to take a loss on its electric truck: figures from early last year indicated it was losing between $100,000 and $132,000 per vehicle.

It is not an official announcement, as Ford has not publicly said anything regarding its plans for the Lightning at this time.

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Elon Musk

Tesla schedules Roadster unveiling event, and you won’t believe when it is

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Tesla has tentatively scheduled its unveiling event for the Roadster’s next-generation iteration, and you will not believe the date the company picked for it.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during the 2025 Annual Shareholders Meeting that the company is aiming for an April 1 demo event.

Yes, April Fools’ Day.

Tesla originally aimed for its “most epic demo” to take place at the end of this year. However, the writing on the wall as 2025 winds down seemed to indicate the company was not quite ready to show off everything it plans to implement into the Roadster.

Its capabilities have been teased quite heavily throughout most of the year, but the biggest hints came last week when Musk appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast.

He said:

“Whether it’s good or bad, it will be unforgettable. My friend Peter Thiel once reflected that the future was supposed to have flying cars, but we don’t have flying cars. I think if Peter wants a flying car, he should be able to buy one…I think it has a shot at being the most memorable product unveil ever. [It will be unveiled] hopefully before the end of the year. You know, we need to make sure that it works. This is some crazy technology in this car. Let’s just put it this way: if you took all the James Bond cars and combined them, it’s crazier than that.”

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The Roadster has been somewhat of a letdown, at least in its newest version, thus far. Tesla has routinely delayed the project, putting those who put lofty down payments on the car in a weird limbo, lost at what to do.

One notable pre-orderer cancelled his reservation last week and got in a spat with Musk about it.

Now that there is a definitive date for the Roadster unveiling, Musk and Co. should have a more definitive cutoff date for features and capabilities. Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen said earlier this year that when they showed Musk what they had done with the Roadster, the CEO encouraged them to do even more with it.

This delayed things further.

Musk also said he believes production would begin between 12 and 18 months after the unveiling, putting it out sometime in 2027.

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Elon Musk

Tesla (TSLA) shareholders officially approve Elon Musk’s 2025 performance award

To earn his landmark pay package, Musk would be required to lift Tesla’s market capitalization from about $1.1 trillion today to $8.5 trillion over the next decade.

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Justin Pacheco, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has officially approved his 2025 Performance Award, a landmark pay package that could make him the world’s first trillionaire and make Tesla the most valuable company in the world by a mile. 

The 2025 CEO Performance Award was officially approved by Tesla shareholders at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting.

Elon Musk‘s landmark pay package

As per Tesla, more than 75% of the shareholders approved Elon Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award. It was then unsurprising that the approval of Elon Musk’s pay plan received overwhelming applause from the event’s attendees.

The CEO took to the stage with much enthusiasm, welcoming every shareholder to the event and dancing briefly on stage. Optimus also danced on stage smoothly, demonstrating its improved movements to much appause.

Elon Musk’s 10-year targets

To earn his 2025 CEO Performance Award, Musk would be required to grow Tesla’s market capitalization from about $1.1 trillion today to $8.5 trillion over the next decade. At that level, Tesla would surpass every major public company in existence. The compensation plan also requires Tesla’s operating profit to grow from $17 billion last year to $400 billion annually. 

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Apart from leading Tesla to become the world’s biggest company in history, Musk is also required to hit several product targets for the electric vehicle maker. These include the delivery of 20 million Tesla vehicles cumulatively, 10 million active FSD subscriptions, 1 million Tesla bots delivered, and 1 million Robotaxis in operation.

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