Tesla hints a smaller pickup truck could be on the way


Tesla hinted that a smaller pickup truck could be on the way, but the company did not clarify whether it would be an abbreviated version of the Cybertruck, or a new design altogether.

The Cybertruck is unlike any vehicle that has ever come before it. Some other vehicles, like the DeLorean, have had similar shapes, but no manufacturer or pickup brand has ever tried to build such an interesting and unorthodox truck, especially in the quantity Tesla builds them.

Only available in North America and the United Arab Emirates (for order as of now, as deliveries are not expected until the end of this year), the Cybertruck has not made its way to areas like Europe or Asia, where Tesla has a sizeable presence. Much of this is due to the sheer size of the pickup, which would not be an ideal vehicle for many of the tight streets and various traffic conditions.

Elon Musk hints at smaller Tesla Cybertruck version down the road

Tesla already made the Cybertruck smaller before it started manufacturing it and delivering it to customers in October 2023. This was to help it fit inside the Boring Company tunnels, but it also seemed as if it just needed a slight scaling back for general public use.

Tesla’s VP of Powertrain, Lars Moravy, spoke on Saturday at the X Takeover about a significant change in the Tesla lineup that has been discussed internally by the company, as questions relating to the Cybertruck’s size and its ability to be useful or practical in other markets continue to be questioned.

He was asked, “Do you see a need for a smaller, more globally scalable version to serve broader, more urban or international segments of the pickup market?”

He said:

“We always talked about making a smaller pickup. I think in the future, as more and more of the Robotaxi comes into the world, we look at those options and we think about, ‘Okay, that kind of service is useful not just for people, but also for goods.”

He continued by stating that Tesla has been working in its Design Studio, located in Hawthorne, California, with potential designs:

“We’ve definitely been churning in the design studio about what we might do to serve that need, for sure.”

The question and answer start at the 22:22 mark of the video below:

It sounds as if the question is phrased as, “Will Tesla develop a smaller Cybertruck?” while Lars’s answer only specifies “pickup,” and not necessarily “a smaller Cybertruck.”

It also seems that, if Tesla is doing as much work as it sounds like in the Design Studio, perhaps it is mulling a new pickup design altogether. The Cybertruck has been the best-selling electric pickup on many occasions from a quarterly perspective, and it was the best-selling EV pickup in 2024.

Tesla has designed smaller pickups in the past, but they’ve never made it to market. An exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles showed internal drawings of pickup concepts that Tesla considered for its lineup.




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