Tesla plans to wind down assembly of the Cybertruck next year to redirect manufacturing capacity toward its upcoming Cybercab, according to an announcement made by chief executive Elon Musk.
The decision brings an abrupt conclusion to a model that fell drastically short of internal commercial expectations. Tesla originally targeted annual output and consumer demand of 250,000 units, but the automaker has delivered only about 70,000 Cybertrucks to date. To help absorb surplus inventory, Musk’s aerospace venture, SpaceX, emerged as one of the largest single purchasers of the pickup.
First teased in 2019 and praised by Musk as Tesla’s best product ever, the stainless-steel vehicle was initially promoted as more capable than a Ford F-150 and faster than a Porsche 911. While it briefly secured status as a top-selling premium electric pickup during the early months of 2024, the vehicle struggled with a higher price tag than initially promised, falling short of advertised towing and range figures alongside recurring product recalls.
The shutdown announcement also arrives amid a contentious political backdrop for Musk. The executive spent upwards of $445 million on Republican campaign efforts, including over $200 million in Texas, where backed candidates recently suffered high-profile defeats. Musk’s public political alignment and leadership role with the DOGE project closely linked the vehicle’s public reception to his political activities before Tesla chose to pull the plug on production.
Source: The Verge
