Tesla will wind down production of the Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of next year, CEO Elon Musk announced in a post on X. The move is intended to make room for increased output of the Cybercab, Tesla's autonomous vehicle for its robotaxi ambitions.
The announcement ends a production run of less than four years for one of the most divisive vehicles in modern automotive history. WIRED reported that Tesla has not responded to its request for comment and clarification on whether the Cybertruck will be discontinued entirely.
Why Cybertruck production is ending
Musk framed the decision as a strategic shift toward autonomy, not a retreat forced by the truck's troubled sales record. He has said on an earnings call that the first Cybercab came off the line in February, and that Tesla should no longer be seen as an automaker but as a robotics and autonomous vehicle company.
The numbers tell a harder story. According to EVWire's citation of Kelley Blue Book data, Tesla sold 11,586 Cybertrucks in the United States in the first three quarters of this year, a 28 percent drop year-over-year. Overall, the truck shifted fewer than 50,000 units in total by March last year, despite Musk claiming more than a million reservations and demand that was "off the charts" at the end of 2023.
Cybertruck struggles: recalls, flaws, and backlash
The truck was plagued by defects well before customer deliveries began. A leaked Tesla report dated January 25, 2022, highlighted basic design flaws in the preproduction "alpha" version, including problems with suspension, body sealing, noise levels, handling and braking. At the November 2019 reveal, the supposedly "unbreakable" window glass shattered in a botched demonstration.
Recalls mounted over the years, covering everything from a loose accelerator pedal pad to stainless steel trim panels that could detach while driving, and even rear wheel studs that could separate from the hub. iSeeCars analyst Karl Brauer told WIRED at the end of 2024 that the Cybertruck's six recalls to that point made it "worse than 91 percent" of all other 2024 vehicles.
