Tesla confirms Cybertruck delay and reveals that a car is not its most important focus this year
Tesla confirmed that it would not release any new cars in 2022, confirming recent rumours that the Cybertruck will be delayed until at least 2023. At a press conference, Musk called out Cybertruck, Semi and Roadster as models that it would continue working on this year, so it can "be ready to bring those to production hopefully next year".
Musk blamed supply chain problems here, with issues such as chip shortages being a limiting factor to production. Given continued uncertainty on parts manufacture, Tesla will focus on scaling up its current output before releasing new vehicles. The company also stated that it was looking to make the Cybertruck more affordable, another reason for the vehicle's delayed release date.
On the vehicle side of the business, Musk expects the most notable development in 2022 will be the roll-out of the self-driving feature, which cars will receive via a software update. Musk claims that this update will improve vehicle safety and could significantly increase the vehicle's value.
However, Musk stated that he did not believe a vehicle would be the most significant device that Tesla worked on this year. Instead, Musk declared that the Optimus humanoid robot was the most exciting project, given its potential to help businesses avoid labour shortages in the future.
During the call, Musk said that the Optimus' first job would likely be at Tesla factories. At Tesla's Artificial Intelligence Event last year, the company said that a humanoid robot prototype would be available in 2022.