Tesla will stop making the Cybertruck, and Elon Musk has a rather unusual explanation for the decision. The electric pickup apparently has more customers waiting to buy it than Tesla can keep up with, but the company still plans to shut down its production line in about eight months. And many people who have already made deposits do not even receive their truck.
In a post on X, Musk says that the order rate of the Cybertruck far exceeds its production rate, and Tesla will try to manufacture as many as possible before they stop. The company also has to return deposits to many customers, although Musk did not reveal how many orders are still pending. The Cybertruck didn’t start reaching customers until late 2023, which makes its initial early retirement all the more surprising.
So, why is Tesla shutting it down?
According to Musk, the decision has nothing to do with the Cybertruck being unprofitable. The problem is apparently that the truck is too complicated to manufacture, and Tesla believes that the same resources could be better used elsewhere.
And that elsewhere is the Cybercab, Tesla’s autonomous robotaxi, which the company is now trying to manufacture in much larger numbers. Musk says the value of producing additional Cybercabs far exceeds the cost of building the Cybertruck.
Then we have the Texas factory, where Tesla reportedly plans to dismantle the Cybertruck production line around mid-2027 to make way for more Cybercabs. According to Reuters, the company will even add another production shift to finish more outstanding truck orders ahead of time.
The sales figures tell a different story
Musk’s claims about massive demand are interesting, especially considering how poorly the Cybertruck did in the market. According to Kelley Blue Book, Tesla sold just 20,237 Cybertrucks in the United States during 2025, a drop of 48% from the previous year. And things haven’t improved much in 2026, with Cox Automotive estimating 11,586 sales through September, a further 28% decline. Musk, at one point, had projected annual sales of around 250,000 vehicles.
Tesla hasn’t disclosed its current reservation backlog, so there’s no way to independently verify how many people are actually waiting for a Cybertruck. Interestingly, Ford has also discontinued the battery-electric F-150 Lightning, although an extended electric replacement with an onboard gasoline generator is planned. It seems that the market for electric pickups is not quite as the automakers expected. For the Cybertruck, however, the decision has apparently been made. Tesla would rather build Robotaxis.