Cybertruck

Make
Tesla
Segment
Sports Car

If there's one thing Tesla is famous for - apart from its crazy-high valuation, its eccentric CEO, and its bleeding-edge automated driving technologies - it's for being later than promised in launching products. The company's first crossover, the Tesla Model X, was delayed multiple times as development took significantly longer than anticipated, partly because of its complicated falcon-wing doors. The EV manufacturer's second-generation Roadster, originally slated for launch this year, has now been pushed back to 2022 as it takes a back seat to other, more pressing projects. We expect nothing less from the Tesla Cybertruck.

It's a true indication of how well toymaker Mattel understands the Tesla experience, then, that its remote-controlled miniature-scale Hot Wheels Cybertrucks have been delayed by more than five months. Is there such a thing as too much verisimilitude? Perhaps, but this isn't it.

Mattel's mini RC Tesla Cybertruck toys were supposed to start shipments this month, but they've been pushed back to May 2021 due to "an unforeseen production issue," Bloomberg reports. Mattel is now "diligently working to ensure these products arrive by May 1, 2021."

This is all awful news if you're among the many customers who put in an advance pre-order for one of the RC Hot Wheels toys in the hopes of giving it as a holiday gift, but in a year rife with delays, cancelations, and shortages affecting every sector of the economy due to the global pandemic, it's no great shock.

Mattel announced two different "specialty collector's item" Tesla Cybertruck toys back in February, and began accepting preorders immediately. One is a 1:64 scale recreation of the forthcoming electric supertruck priced at $20, while the other is a 1:10 scale model costing a whopping $400. Both versions now appear to be sold out.

The full-size Tesla Cybertruck, meanwhile, is currently planned to start production late in 2021 in dual- and tri-motor trims, while the base single-motor truck isn't to start shipments until some time in 2022.