Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the electric car maker will wind down production of the Cybertruck at its Texas Gigafactory next year to allow for expanded production of the Cybercab robotaxi, signaling a major shift after the company’s electric pickup struggled with poor sales and quality issues.
Key Facts
In an X post early on Friday, Musk wrote Tesla will be “winding down production of the Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of next year to make room for increased Cybercab production.”
The world’s richest man didn’t specify whether production for the Cybertruck would cease entirely as Tesla’s Texas factory is the only one that currently manufactures electric pickup.
Musk later reshared an X post from Cybertruck’s lead engineer Wes Morrill, who called the electric pickup “an incredible technology development platform” and said it “lives on through Cybercab.”
The Cybertruck was initially unveiled in 2019 and finally went on sale in 2023.
The Cybercab was first shown off in 2024, as a two-seat autonomous vehicle without any steering wheels or pedals, and Tesla began offering paid rides in the robotaxi in parts of Austin, Texas in September this year.
During Tesla’s most recent earnings call last month, Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy said they are aiming to make the autonomous cabs available for customer purchase by the end of 2026, but Musk noted that a majority of Cybercabs will be Tesla-owned and operate as part of its robotaxi service.
What Do We Know About Cybertruck Sales?
Tesla’s May 2023 shareholders meeting, Musk estimated that the company could eventually sell between 250,000 and 500,000 trucks annually once production was fully ramped up. However, U.S. sales for the electric pickup plummeted sharply from 38,965 in 2024 to just 20,237 in 2025, according to estimates from Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book. U.S. sales have continued to slide this year as well, with Kelley Blue Book’s latest figures showing just 11,586 Cybertrucks sold in the U.S. during the first nine months of 2026, down 28% from the same period last year. Tesla’s Q3 update didn’t provide a specific breakdown of Cybertruck deliveries because it groups the electric pickup under the “Other Models” category, which includes all Tesla models aside from the Model 3 and Model Y. But “Other Models” deliveries slipped 48% in the quarter to just 8,295 vehicles. The update notes that the company has an installed manufacturing capacity for more than 125,000 Cybertrucks annually at its Texas factory.
tangent
Tesla shares are up 2.74% to $353.12 in premarket trading early on Friday after crashing 10.77% on Thursday as part of a market-wide rout.
key background
Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck’s angular, stainless-steel design in 2019, and said the electric pickup will launch at a price of $39,900 in 2021. After multiple delays, deliveries finally began in late November 2023, and the starting price had risen to $60,990. Since its launch, the Cybertruck has been marred by several quality issues and has faced repeated recalls. In 2024, the electric pickup was recalled over accelerator pedals that could become trapped and cause unintended acceleration. Last year, Tesla recalled more than 46,000 Cybertrucks because its stainless-steel exterior panels could detach while driving. Another 173 Cybertrucks faced a recall in April for this year over issues with its brake rotors which could cause its wheel studs to separate.
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