Tesla Cybertruck and Cyberbeast both listed as eligible for the full federal made-in-USA tax credit subsidy

The newly released dual-motor Cybertruck and tri-motor Cyberbeast electric pickup models cover all of the government's EV tax credit eligibility requirements when it comes to made-in-USA battery raw materials, production, and vehicle assembly, as both the trucks and their batteries are made at Tesla's Austin Gigafactory. Only one of them, however - the midrange dual-motor Cybertruck - is priced just below the government's $80,000 EV subsidy threshold for the category.

Cybertruck tax credit writeoff

Still, the IRS now lists both the dual-motor Cybertruck and the Cyberbeast as eligible for the full $7,500 tax credit amount, despite that the tri-motor option costs close to $100,000. That is probably an omission on the government's part, though, and the Cybertruck is the only electric vehicle listed both in the 2023 and 2024 model year categories.

Tesla is using an upgraded version of the 4680 battery in its newly released Cybertruck electric pickup that consists of the so-called "Cyber cells," according to its Q2 earnings call. The Cyber cell allows for 10% higher energy density than the structural 4680 battery pack that Tesla places in the Model Y, achieved by painstaking "process and mechanical design optimization," rather than some ingenious chemistry breakthrough.

Those new 4680 cells for the Cybertruck are now made in the multimillion Giga Texas battery section expansion where Tesla doubled its 4680 production capacity compared to previous quarters. At the time, Tesla said that the 4680 battery facilities in Texas have allowed it cut "scrap bill by 40% quarter-over-quarter, and that resulted in a 25% reduction in cell COGS [cost of goods sold]."

Tesla is also preparing huge 4680 battery assembly expansions for its Gigafactory in Nevada and Fremont, too, hoping to ramp the Cybertruck's production to about 20,000 a month in the span of 12-18 months. Tesla said that in will be in "a comfortable place on cost per cell" after the Cybertruck's launch production push that will stretch into 2024 when the economies of scale kick in.

Higher Cybertruck volume production may allow it to start cutting its retail price, just like it did with the rest of its models in 2023, so at some point the Cyberbeast may just wiggle under the $80,000 tax credit threshold.

That moment in time won't come any time soon, though, while Tesla just announced that the Model 3's tax credit amount will be cut by 50% next year, so it's interesting that currently the government lists both the Cybertruck and the Cyberbeast as eligible for the full federal $7,500 subsidy.

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