In China, Tesla’s Cybertruck EV draws gawkers – and orders – despite 2-year delivery wait
- An appearance by the sharp-edged ‘dream vehicle’, which is not yet available in China, creates a stir at a trade show in Shanghai
The fanfare surrounding the Cybertruck, which Tesla started delivering in the US in November, came after the company’s Gigafactory in Shanghai posted a 16.7 month-on-month rise in deliveries in May.
The factory, which builds the Model 3 and Model Y for domestic sales and export to international markets, delivered 72,573 units last month, compared with 62,167 in April, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed.
The Cybertruck is worth a long wait because the one-of-a-kind vehicle is a symbol of the future of mobility, said Tian Qingwen, a professor at North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, who has ordered one.
“I was told that it will not be delivered before 2026 due to overwhelming demand from people around the globe,” he said. “But it is a dream vehicle that I definitely will buy and own.”
A Tesla sales employee confirmed that the company received a number of orders for the Cybertruck during the four-day carbon-neutrality expo, which started on Wednesday.