The Tesla Cybertruck is reportedly going to be utilizing Samsung Electro-Mechanics camera modules, according to new reports. The potential deal between Tesla and Samsung is worth over $400 million.
According to reports from news outlets in South Korea, including The Korea Economic Daily, Tesla and Samsung have reached a deal to have camera supply modules that will be outfitted on the new Tesla Cybertruck, which will begin production in late 2021. The deal is worth $435.7 million, according to KED. The cameras will take the place of rearview and side mirrors, two things that have been absent on prototype versions of the Cybertruck in the few public appearances that the vehicle has made since its November 2019 unveiling.
Samsung has had a sluggish 12 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and their business of camera modules and multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) has been affected by the worldwide pandemic. The company posted sluggish sales figures in Q2, but the new deal with Tesla could ignite some momentum under the wings of the Korean company.
The deal will help Samsung with its plans to increase the MLCC business, especially in the automotive sector. The parts are manufactured at the company’s Tianjin, China, plant.
Since its first public appearance in 2019, the Cybertruck has been one of Tesla’s most anticipated projects in recent memory. The only one with more hype than the Cybertruck is likely the Roadster, a revamped edition of the automaker’s original vehicle. In the past year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has consistently updated the public with the Cybertruck’s design, indicating that it will feature a robust stainless steel alloy that will give it uncomparable strength, a slightly more compact design, and even solar cell panels that could contribute some range when it is parked in sunlight.
The reports out of Korea have not yet been confirmed by Tesla or Elon Musk himself. Musk is currently in Delaware, taking part in a court case over Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity.
The Cybertruck is expected to start production late this year, and Musk anticipates the all-electric pickup to be produced by Tesla in at least small figures by the end of the year. The volume production is likely to begin in early 2022 at the company’s soon-to-be-completed Giga Texas facility.
