Something Has Gone Seriously Wrong With Cybertruck Production

A different kind of Cyber-stuck.

Batteries Not Included

Last week, Tesla told workers on its Cybertruck line not to come into work — and now, it looks like we know why.

As Business Insider reports based on interviews with people who work on that line, a battery supply issue has caused Cybertruck production to be "backed up" in recent weeks as the company is "working out the kinks" on its mega-popular — if not somewhat raggedy — new vehicle.

In a memo viewed by BI and used in its prior reporting, Tesla told Cybertruck employees they "didn't need" to come into work between December 3 and 5. Though they were told they would be paid for eight hours of work during that time away from the line, no official reason was given in the memo.

According to five workers on that line, the schedules for Cybertruck workers have been inconsistent since the end of October. And if you're counting down the minutes until the company solves the issue, at least one of those employees told the website they were looking for a new job as a result.

Production Problems

In the year since Tesla began delivering its polygonal trucks to its long-suffering customers, there has been at least one additional instance of production line snags related to the company's ability to make enough of its bespoke 4680 batteries to meet demand.

Just under a year ago, Reuters reported based on several insider sources that Tesla was having trouble ramping up production of the giant cylindrical power cells, which are also used in its Model Y cars, to meet the demand posed by the extensive Cybertruck waitlist. At the time, the company's Giga Texas factory was only making enough of the batteries to produce 24,000 Cybertrucks per year — about one-tenth the size of its required output, per the outlet's number-crunching.

Though 4680 production did increase as the year went on, Texas Tesla workers who were working 12-hour shifts when Cybertrucks were first being delivered had their hours cut in April — and workers who spoke to BI for this more recent story said further reductions have taken place in the interim as well.

Critics have long claimed that Tesla's 4680 batteries were doomed to fail, and reporting from The Information over the summer suggested that Elon Musk gave his battery team til year's end to handle its production problems.

With this latest leak, it appears that that deadline may not have been met — and as The Information's report also suggested, Musk may soon give up on its pioneering battery in favor of one that's easier to make.

More on Cybertrucks: The Value of Used Cybertrucks Is in Freefall