Tesla Cybertruck production will be wound down at the company’s Texas gigafactory around the middle of next year, Elon Musk has said. The move is intended to make room for production of Tesla’s Cybercab robotaxi.
The Tesla chief announced the plan in a post on X on Friday. He did not say whether Cybertruck manufacturing would move to another facility.
The angular electric pickup is made exclusively at Tesla’s Texas plant, alongside the Model Y and the two-seat Cybercab, which Musk has described as a crucial product for the carmaker’s future.
Responding later to a user who called the announcement an “end of an era” and described the Cybertruck as “the best vehicle Tesla has ever made”, Musk said: “True, but the Cybertruck fleet will be around for a long time.”
Tesla began delivering the Cybertruck in late 2023. Although its distinctive design attracted a niche following, the vehicle failed to reach mass-market sales despite Musk’s pre-launch prediction that annual demand would eventually reach 250,000.
Estimates from Cox Automotive put US Cybertruck sales at 20,237 last year, down 48 per cent from 38,965 in 2024. Tesla does not publish sales figures broken down by model or region.
One significant buyer was SpaceX, Musk’s aerospace and technology conglomerate, which spent $131 million purchasing Cybertrucks at Tesla’s suggested retail price, according to a SpaceX financial filing.
The vehicle has also faced criticism over its specifications, which in some cases fell short of early Tesla claims and those of leading petrol-powered pickups. It has been associated with a series of quality and production problems.
The 2024 Cybertruck was the subject of 11 voluntary recalls, covering issues including a trapped acceleration pedal that could cause unintended acceleration, software defects and an inverter fault that could lead to a sudden loss of drive power.
Musk unveiled the vehicle in 2019, saying: “Trucks have been the same for a very long time. Like 100 years. Trucks have been basically the same. We want to try something different.”
