Tesla Cybertruck orders stopped outside US, Canada and Mexico

Initially launched in 2019, the truck was due to start production this year

People take pictures of the newly unveiled Cybertruck in 2019. The vehicle's release to the market in 2021 was delayed by at least two years. AFP

The Cybertruck was originally priced at $39,900 in 2019 - but inflationary prices have pushed other Tesla vehicles up in cost. AFP

Mr Musk stands in front of Cybertruck, after a metal ball was thrown at the windows to show how tough they are. Tesla / Reuters

Mr Musk discusses vehicle dimensions in front of the Cybertruck. AFP

The Tesla Cybertruck is unveiled at Tesla's design studio. AP

Tesla, the world's biggest electric vehicle manufacturer, has stopped taking orders on its website for its eagerly awaited Cybertruck model outside the US, Canada and Mexico.

Chief executive Elon Musk said earlier this year that the Cybertruck, initially scheduled for a production start date in 2022, would enter assembly "hopefully next year" amid a "a massive wave of new products".

Tesla has not since commented on changes to the availability of the Cybertruck.

The Cybertruck was launched in 2019 and Mr Musk said it would sell for $39,900, although that was with a view to production beginning in late 2021. Tesla has since raised the prices of its vehicles due to significant inflationary pressure in raw materials and logistics during the crisis in Ukraine.

"We have more orders of the first Cybertrucks than we could possibly fulfil for three years after the start of production," Mr Musk said last week at the FT Future of the Car 2022 conference.

Customers in North America are able to place an order through the website for a refundable fee of $100.

Car enthusiasts in the UAE rushed to pre-order the Cybertruck back in 2019 and had to pay a deposit of Dh500. The UAE version of the Tesla website provides only the option to "get updates" on the Cybertruck rather than reserve one.

The truck has been designed to have the pull of an off-road vehicle, while maintaining the speed of a high-end sports car.

It has "a nearly impenetrable exoskeleton, every component is designed for superior strength and endurance, from Ultra-Hard 30X Cold-Rolled stainless-steel structural skin, to Tesla armour glass", according to the Tesla website.

In the launch demo, Tesla chief designer Franz von Holzhausen took a sledgehammer to the truck, which withstood the impact. Then it all went wrong.

Mr Von Holzhausen took a metallic ball and tossed it at the truck — smashing the front driver-side window, stunning the audience and viewers live-streaming the event.

The company has delayed a plan to restore production at its Shanghai plant to levels before the city's Covid-19 lockdown by at least a week, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.

The Gigafactory 3 plant produces the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover for the China market and for export.

It originally aimed to increase output at its Shanghai plant to 2,600 cars a day from May 16. However, it will now stick with a daily output of around 1,200 units and aim to increase output to 2,600 units per day from May 23, Reuters reported.

As well as the Cybertruck, Tesla is also working on a robotaxi, which features no pedals or steering wheel.

"There are a number of other innovations around it that I think are quite exciting, but it is fundamentally optimised to achieve the lowest fully considered cost per mile or kilometre when counting everything,” Mr Musk said on Tesla's financial results conference call last month.

Tesla is also working on a humanoid robot called Optimus.