The first Cybertruck deliveries could be made by the end of the year

What just happened? Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during a recent earnings call with investors that engineers have finalized the design of the company’s first electric pickup truck. “We’ll soon order the equipment necessary to make the Cybertruck,” Musk added. With any luck, the first few deliveries could occur by the end of the year.

Tesla unveiled its futuristic Cybertruck at a flashy event in late 2019. The company said the boxy EV would have a range of up to 500 miles on a single charge and be capable of reaching 60 mph from a stop in less than three seconds.

Several months later, Musk revealed that Tesla was modifying the design of the Cybertruck for better off-road performance. The pickup would also be about three percent smaller than the prototype, with lower window sills and a more level center line.

With the design now finalized, Tesla can move ahead to production. Musk on Wednesday said they might get lucky and be able to deliver a few Cybertrucks to customers near the end of the year but that volume production is expected to start in 2022.

It’s an aggressive timeline, especially if Tesla hasn’t even ordered the components to manufacture the Cybertruck. Plus, we’re still waiting for the company to produce the second-gen Roadster and Semi truck it unveiled in 2017.

“Prototypes are easy, scaling production is very hard,” Musk noted.