Elon Musk announced Friday that Tesla will wind down production of the Cybertruck at its Gigafactory Texas facility around the middle of 2027, clearing the assembly line to make room for increased Cybercab output. The announcement, posted to X, marks the beginning of the end for the stainless-steel pickup that Musk once projected would sell 250,000 units annually — a figure it never approached.
"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," Musk wrote on X, as reported by The Western Journal's Jack Davis.
The numbers tell the story. Cox Automotive estimated 20,237 Cybertrucks were sold in the U.S. last year, according to CNBC, down sharply from 38,965 in 2024 — a 48 percent decline, according to figures cited in later coverage. The pickup has also faced 11 recalls since its launch, according to reporting from 11 hours after the initial announcement.
Musk acknowledged Saturday that Tesla still has more Cybertruck orders than it can fill under its current schedule. "The Cybertruck order backlog is currently far more than Tesla can make before dismantling the line for Cybercab expansion around June/July next year," Musk posted. "We will add an extra shift to try to get all orders done in time."
The company has not confirmed whether Cybertruck production will end permanently or relocate to another facility. When one user on X described the Cybertruck as the "best vehicle Tesla has ever made" and lamented its apparent discontinuation, Musk replied: "True."
Tesla shares climbed 4.7 percent following the Friday announcement, according to reporting on the market reaction.
Cybercab Takes Center Stage
The pivot reflects where Musk sees Tesla's future: autonomous transportation rather than niche pickups. Cybercabs have operated in Austin for the past two months without major problems, according to The Western Journal. The vehicles have no steering wheels or pedals and are built specifically for autonomous operation. Tesla has said Cybercabs will appear in Dallas this month, with additional cities slated to receive the service.
Musk has said Tesla aims to sell the two-seat Cybercab to customers by the end of 2026, following the robotaxi's paid-ride debut in Austin in September, according to reporting on the timeline.
The Cybertruck's retreat from the Texas line echoes what already happened to the Model S and Model X, which previously gave up factory space to robots, according to The Motley Fool. The pattern is clear: Tesla is reallocating manufacturing capacity toward what it believes is the next era of transportation.
Pricing likely played a role in the Cybertruck's struggles. The BBC noted that the "Cyberbeast" model carries a price of $102,000, while other models start around $80,000 — a steep ask for a vehicle in a segment where buyers expect utility and affordability. Musk himself acknowledged the challenge of disrupting a century-old formula when he said, according to CNBC: "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."
He added, per TechCrunch, that "probably my personal favorite for the next product is the pickup truck, and we are going to just do an amazing pickup truck." That was then. Now the line is being cleared.
Our Take
Let's be honest about what this is: a rare public admission from Musk that a bet didn't pay off the way he promised. The Cybertruck was supposed to be a revolution on wheels. Instead it became a punchline for late-night hosts, a magnet for recalls, and a sales disappointment that never came close to the 250,000-a-year target Musk floated to investors.
But here's the thing Patriots — Musk isn't running a charity, and he isn't running for office. He's running a company that has to answer to shareholders, and the market just told him where the future is. Shares jumped nearly 5 percent on the news. Wall Street doesn't mourn the Cybertruck. It's betting on the Cybercab.
And that's the real story here. While legacy automakers are still tripping over themselves trying to build electric sedans nobody wants — propped up by taxpayer subsidies and government mandates — Tesla is quietly dismantling one line and rebuilding it for autonomous vehicles that don't even have steering wheels. That's what American innovation looks like when it isn't shackled by bureaucrats in Washington telling you what to build.
Is there risk? Absolutely. The Cybercab is a bet on a regulatory environment that doesn't exist yet in most cities, and Musk has a habit of promising timelines that slip. But the alternative — doubling down on a pickup that lost half its sales in a year — would be the kind of stubbornness that kills companies.
The Cybertruck had its moment. It was bold, it was weird, and it made a statement. But in Texas, they don't keep building things that don't sell. They retool, they move forward, and they build what Americans actually want to buy.
What do you think, folks? Is the Cybercab the future, or is Musk moving too fast and leaving truck buyers behind? Sound off in the comments.
