Tesla’s EV boom overshadowed by alarming production bottlenecks

Over 5,000 reasons to celebrate

If you’re a fan of Elon Musk’s automotive brainchild start-up turned innovative behemoth, this summer has its fair share of good news. In the month of July alone, Automotive News reported that Tesla managed to sell over 5,100 Cybertrucks, not to mention their other EVs. Tesla also managed to secure pre-orders for more than 5,500 of their angular trucks in the same period, about half of the total registrations of all EV trucks in the US. Put another way, out of everyone who wants an EV truck badly enough to pre-register, one out of every two of them are putting their money behind Tesla.

Leaving money on the table

Notice something a little strange about the math, however? You’re not alone: there’s about a 400 unit shortage between the number of trucks Tesla can physically produce, and the number people want to buy. All told, Tesla has an estimated backlog of two million Cybertruck pre-orders, and month by month that number is only growing larger thanks to this deficit.

Related: Automakers sound alarm after EU electric vehicle sales crash

The EV truck market is currently small and still developing and emerging, and it’s not a guarantee that Tesla can keep their current lead against solid competitors like the Rivian R1T, Ford’s F-150 Lightning, the EV version of Chevy’s Silverado, and even the peculiar yet charming Hummer EV.

A growing pie waiting to be sliced

All of these competitors are also benefiting from the rise in EV truck demand, and unlike Tesla, seem to be able to put out their trucks fast enough to actually put keys into waiting consumer hands. While the orders for EV trucks to date are up over 118,000 compared to last year’s roughly 101,000, Tesla’s share of them has decreased as their production languishes, from 56% to 48%. The Verge even reports that their overall delivery of EVs has shrunk slightly this quarter compared to last, and last quarter was also down from 2023 year’s end.

The price of supply and demand

Unless Tesla changes their trajectory, Cybertruck seems poised to remain a relatively stable force in a growing market, slipping from it’s top position into a lane of comfortable but unimpressive complacence. Adopting this strategy is not completely without merit either; when everyone wants what you have, and there’s a scarce supply, you can raise prices to offset lost potential sales, which Tesla has already been doing.

The price of a new Cybertruck, pre-ordered, is now nearly $100,000, and the wait times are only getting longer. As long as people still want to accept those terms, Tesla can comfortably chug along at the current pace and rack up higher and higher prices for the same amount of production.

Tesla isn’t the only game in town

However, such an outcome is not a guarantee. There comes a tipping point where more and more buyers will get tired of waiting, or overpaying for the ‘privilege’ of doing so, especially when there are alternatives readily available. Listed below are some of the competition the Cybertruck is facing, as well as a short rundown of why consumers might elect to go with one of them instead.

Chevy’s chaser: the Silverado EV

If you have $100,000 burning a hole in your pocket, you don’t have to wait years for a Cybertruck: Chevy’s 2024 Silverado EV is just about as expensive, but will be ready much much sooner. It’s also a respected legacy manufacturer with a large base of institutional knowledge to draw on for a smooth and refined end design.

The happy-go-lucky Hummer EV

Maybe the SIlverado is a little too traditional for your taste, and the unique profile and quirkiness of the Cybertruck is a big selling point to you. Why not consider the 2024 Hummer EV? Its base price of about $97,000 is equivalent to the Cybertruck and Silverado EV, but it certainly stands on its own in terms of style and symbolism. Hummer was once the notorious punchline of the inefficient, gas-guzzling monstrosities on the road in the US, however the rebranded Hummer EV is anything but. It keeps aesthetics of the Hummer design, but in a robust truck form and with the ecological peace of mind of an EV. It might not turn heads quite as starkly as the radical Cybertruck look, but for some consumers looking for that stand-out sensational feeling now as opposed to who knows when, it might be just what they need.

Rival at a reasonable price: Rivian R1T

Perhaps these options all come with a price tag that’s just a tad steep. Rivian’s 2024 R1T is here to the rescue! From just under $70,000, it packs just as much punch as the heavier hitters in a less expensive package. With a lot of favorable comparability to the above options, what’s not to love about a truck that will cost you less and whose wheel you can get this decade?

Letting out all the stops with Ford’s F-150 Lightning EV

What if you could buy two EV trucks for nearly the same price of one Cybertruck? Ford asks and answers this question with the 2024 F150 Lightning. With an MSRP of less than $55,000, it’s a surprisingly, one might even say innovatively affordable option considering the iconic F-150 branding and Ford’s reputation as one of the older and established carmakers.

It may not have all the bells and whistles as the more expensive offerings (although, perhaps more than you might think), but half the price is half the price, and if Ford continues to hold the affordability corner of the EV truck market, it is not hard to imagine they might make it to the number one spot in market share sooner than later.

All forks full circle

It is undoubtedly a good sign for Tesla that, for now at least, their brand image is carrying demand and building hype for the Cybertruck. For the immediate future, at least, Tesla should remain the dominant force in the EV truck market as the orders pour in and seemingly every truck they can make flies off the lots as fast as they arrive.

However, other manufacturers have serious contenders in the game now, each with their own selling points over the heavily delayed Cybertruck fulfilled orders. Tesla controls the biggest piece of the pie for now, but as that pie grows bigger, it may be ill prepared to take any more, and even the piece it has might be under threat if bottleneck production and high prices continue… and the competition is hungry.

Related: Ford CEO says the Chinese EV industry is biggest threat to his business