It appears that Tesla is indeed ramping the production of the Cybertruck Long Range Rear Wheel Drive (LR RWD), the most affordable variant of the brutalist all-electric pickup truck.

Videos of several freshly produced Cybertruck LR RWD units were shared on social media platform X.

Giga Texas Footage

As per longtime Tesla watcher Joe Tegtmeyer, Giga, Texas, was a hotbed of activity when he conducted his recent drone flyover. Apart from what seemed to be Cybercab castings being gathered in the complex, a good number of Cybertruck LR RWD units could also be seen in the facility’s staging area. The Cybertruck LR RWD units are quite easy to spot since they are not equipped with the motorized tonneau cover that is standard on the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast.

The presence of the Cybertruck LR RWD units in Giga Texas’ staging area suggests that Tesla is ramping the production of the base all-electric pickup truck. This bodes well for the vehicle, which is still premium priced despite missing a good number of features that are standard in the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast.

Cybertruck Long Range RWD Specs

The Cybertruck LR RWD is priced at $69,990 before incentives, making it $10,000 more affordable than the Cybertruck AWD. For its price, the Cybertruck Long Range RWD offers a range of 350 miles per charge if equipped with its 18” standard Wheels. It can also add up to 147 miles of range in 15 minutes using a Tesla Supercharger.

Much of the cost-cutting measures taken by Tesla are evident in the cabin of the Cybertruck LR RWD. This could be seen in its textile seats, standard console, seven-speaker audio system with no active noise cancellation, and lack of a 9.4” second-row display. It is also missing the motorized tonneau cover, the 2x 120V and 1x 240V power outlets on the bed, and the 2x 120V power outlets in the cabin. It is also equipped with an adaptive coil spring suspension instead of the adaptive air suspension in the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast.

Tesla is evidently preparing for the Cybercab to take over the Robotaxi platform after the pilot program in Austin, Texas, is launched.

That claim is made based on new drone footage from Gigafactory Texas captured by Joe Tegtmeyer, who found hundreds of Cybercab castings that have accumulated on property in Austin.

🚨 The Drone GOAT @JoeTegtmeyer has captured images of “several hundred” Cybercab castings outside of Giga Texas

The Model Y will handle the initial Robotaxi pilot program in Austin, but it looks like Cybercab could be introduced later this year as well! https://t.co/PkPXjuR5Tc pic.twitter.com/iSohkSZcIZ

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) April 30, 2025

The Cybercab is Tesla’s dedicated Robotaxi vehicle that was unveiled last October. It features just two seats and is minimalistic, aimed toward allowing the Full Self-Driving suite to chauffeur passengers from Point A to Point B without ever having to deal with human interaction or any responsibilities within the vehicle.

In June, Tesla plans to launch its first Robotaxi rides in Texas. Although employees in Austin and in the Bay Area of San Francisco have already had access to over 1,500 trips and 15,000 miles of autonomous (but supervised) travel, Tesla plans to launch a driverless version in a limited fashion in June.

However, this initial pilot program, while presumably operating on an Unsupervised version of the FSD, will only utilize Model Ys, at least at first.

The drone footage captured by Tegtmeyer today seems to tell a story of a quick transition to the Cybercab for the Robotaxi responsibilities, especially as Tesla gets its feet wet with the early Unsupervised FSD rides and gains confidence in the fleet’s ability to navigate passengers:

Many more @Tesla Cybercab Castings at Giga Texas today! Looks like around 75 or so in the racks waiting for production line testing (or more than that?) 😎 pic.twitter.com/0zUdH6BKLx

— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠🛸😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) April 30, 2025

It appears that between 400 and 500 Cybercab castings can be seen in the images Joe captured, a very respectable number considering the company said it will not launch the Robotaxi with the initial rides it gives in Austin.

The images seem to paint a picture that Tesla is truly ready to get things moving in terms of the Cybercab project. While it does not plan to use the vehicle initially, its manufacturing efforts for the car are being prepared by stacking these castings so they’re ready to be expanded upon into the real thing.

On the most recent Earnings Call, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy, said the Cybercab’s engineering has progressed over the last several months to “derisk things like corrosion, the ceiling across the seams of the vehicle, and when you marry several components,” and even things like early crash testing have already taken place.

Moravy continued, “As with all that combined, we kind of go into the builds that we have in this quarter for the Cybercab product, and that’s the next real big test of full-scale integration with the unboxed process. And that’s kind of where we are. So you’ll see them on the test roads in a couple of months.”

The Tesla Semi is not yet in mass production, but the company has accumulated over 7.9 million miles across its test fleet. With Tesla using the Semi for its operations, it is no surprise that sightings of the Class 8 all-electric truck have been abounding. 

These sightings from Tesla enthusiasts vary, but those that capture the the Class 8 all-electric truck moving at speed are most notable, possibly due to their sheer cool factor.

Tesla Semi’s Roar

There is something that just stands out with the Semi, particularly on the road. While the Semi does not have the Cybertruck’s brutalist, angular design, it is still very striking because it’s such a massive machine that moves far too quietly for its size. This is, of course, one of the reasons why the vehicle also becomes extra noteworthy when it fires up its electric motors and accelerates.

Take this video from Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, for example, which shows the all-electric hauler accelerating while pulling what appears to be a full load. In these situations, the Tesla Semi actually becomes audible, but unlike traditional diesel-powered truck, the Class 8 all-electric truck “roars” with its own, unique futuristic, sci-fi sound. In such situations, one could feel the Semi’s raw power, which comes from its three independent motors on its rear axles.

Tesla Semi Ramp

Tesla has been promoting the Semi quite a bit as of late, and recent reports have suggested that the company is putting in a lot of effort to prepare the vehicle for its production in Nevada. Tesla’s Careers website has gone live with over 80 Semi-related job openings recently as well, and a recent report has suggested that Tesla has ramped the Semi’s factory workers in Nevada to over 1,000 employees.

The company has even shared an update video of the Semi factory’s progress near Giga Nevada, as well as the design of the vehicle’s new logo. The Semi’s updated logo is quite interesting as it features elements from the Tesla Model 3’s first logo, which was unveiled way back in 2016.