Tesla says its first production Cybertruck electric pickup has rolled off the assembly line, nearly two years behind the original schedule.
The company tweeted a photo on Saturday showing scores of workers in helmets and yellow vests surrounding the truck.
“First Cybertruck built at Giga Texas!” Tesla tweeted, including a cowboy hat-wearing emoji. Owner Elon Musk retweeted the post.
Musk unveiled the truck in late 2019, and Tesla had said production would start in late 2021, although the company has since cautioned that production would begin slowly and in smaller numbers than Tesla's other vehicles.
With its wedge shape and stainless-steel body — which Tesla calls the exoskeleton — the Cybertruck looks nothing like a traditional pickup. Some analysts have panned it as a niche product that won't have broad appeal.
Musk said in April that the company expected to deliver the first truck probably in the July-through-September quarter. He said that as with other new products, production would start slowly and then speed up.
“It takes time to get the manufacturing line going,” he said, “and this is really a very radical product. It’s not made in the way that other cars are made. So let’s see.”
The truck's 2019 unveiling veered off course when a window that was touted as unbreakable was spider-cracked when hit by a big metal ball, which prompted an expletive from Musk.
Tesla originally said it would make three versions of the truck, ranging from about $40,000 to $70,000. Later the company removed prices from the page where customers can decide whether to plunk down $100 and place an order.
Competitors have rushed into the electric truck market, including the Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian Automotive's R1T. Both look like conventional pickups.
Tesla is scheduled to report second-quarter financial results on July 19.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
