Technology

Tesla “winding down” production of Cybertruck

Ellen Eberhardt

US reporter

Photography courtesy of Tesla

According to a recent tweet by Tesla founder Elon Musk, the electric vehicle company will be decreasing production of the Cybertruck at its Texas Gigafactory, just two and a half years after the car’s debut.

Musk said on Friday morning that Cybertruck production will be “winding down” to “make room” for the Cybercab, an electric sedan Tesla unveiled in 2024.

The change will go into effect starting mid-2027, according to Musk. It is unclear if the Cybertruck will be completely discontinued, although Musk agreed with a user of Musk-owned social media platform X, who called the news an “end of an era”.

“True, but the Cybertruck fleet will be around for a long time”, the Tesla founder replied.

The Texas Gigafactory outside of Austin is the only factory known to produce the Cybertruck, according to MSN.

The shift may be due to poor sales of the vehicle since it was delivered to customers starting in late 2023.

The company sold 20, 237 Cybertrucks in the US last year, down from 38,965 in 2024, representing a 48 per cent drop, according to an estimate from Kelley Blue Book.

Musk estimated the company would sell an average of between 250,000 and 500,000 trucks annually at a 2023 shareholders’ meeting.

The Cybertruck design was first unveiled in 2019. It quickly divided opinion for its boxy shape and sci-fi appearance.

It was launched and placed in showrooms in 2023. Shortly after, many models were recalled in 2024 due to faulty pedals.

Tesla has been shifting its factory lines in recent years, seemingly to usher in the production of its semi-autonomous products.

One example is the Cybercab due to be folded into the company’s robotaxi service.

Earlier this year, Tesla announced it shifted production lines for its Model S and Model X vehicles into fabrication of its Optimus humanoid robot, which recently went into production in California.

The company also debuted a flying Roadster concept car to much fanfare last month.

Photography courtesy of Tesla

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