--- title: "Something Has Gone Seriously Wrong With Cybertruck Production" description: "Last week, Tesla told workers on its Cybertruck line not to come in for a few days — and now, it looks like we know why." date: "2024-12-05" modified: "2024-12-05" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/cybertruck-production-problem-batteries" categories: - "Advanced Transport" tags: - "4680" - "cybertruck" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Something Has Gone Seriously Wrong With Cybertruck Production ![Last week, Tesla told workers on its Cybertruck line not to come in for a few days — and now, it looks like we know why.]() *\Image: Brandon Bell via Getty\* ## 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 ragged]()y — 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*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()