RIP Cybertruck. You Were Unloved, Unwanted, and Utterly Absurd

Save Story Save this story Save Story Save this story Elon Musk, in a post on X , has officially called time on the Cybertruck, stating that “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.” Produced for less than four years, the polarizing pickup is seemingly dying as it lived, with the news being greeted in a flurry of replies in praise of the EV as well as deriding it. James Star, claiming to be a Tesla employee, posted that it was “the saddest news! Cybertruck (was) the best car Tesla sold,” right next to a user called Captain Ford who simply replied to Musk with “Fuck that shitbox.” Tesla has not responded to WIRED’s request for comment and clarification that the Cybertruck will no longer be made at all. The Cybertruck is exclusively made at Gigafactory Texas, as this is apparently the only Tesla facility equipped with the machinery required to manufacture the truck’s unique stainless steel body, which supposedly started to rust in some cases. Despite whipping up a fevered number of reservations—allegedly more than a million according to Musk, who at the end of 2023 crowed that demand was “off the charts!”—the truck failed to sell, shifting less than 50,000 units in total by March last year. EVWire cites Kelley Blue Book data suggesting that Tesla sold 11,586 Cybertrucks in the first three quarters of this year in the US, down 28 percent year-over-year, adding that Musk’s announcement post came about 80 minutes after Tesla raised US Cybertruck prices and paused new orders for the entry-level Dual-Motor AWD version. The Cybertruck proved not only to be wildly unpopular, it was also beset by troubles before it even reached customers. In 2023, WIRED covered a leaked Tesla report dated January 25, 2022, that showed the Cybertruck had basic design flaws , and that the preproduction “alpha” version was struggling with problems with its suspension, body sealing, noise levels, handling, and braking. In November 2019, when Musk stepped onto a stage in California to launch his new cyberpunk-styled electric pickup, he decided to demonstrate the strength of the “unbreakable” glass windows by hurling a steel ball at them. In what has now entered into public relations folklore, the demo truck’s windows smashed not once, but twice. Musk swore, then joked: “There’s room for improvement.” There most certainly was. In April 2024, a recall was issued for the Cybertruck because its accelerator pedal pad could come loose and get trapped by interior trim, which had the frightening potential of pushing the car to full speed. In March last year, Tesla had to recall nearly all the Cybertrucks it had then produced because a stainless steel trim panel could become detached from the vehicle while driving, blaming the problem on the wrong type of glue, a new adhesive “not prone to environmental embrittlement.” Back in May this year, Cybertrucks were struck down by the wrong type of grease, which meant that their wheels could potentially fall off . In what was then the EV’s 11th recall, it was declared that the Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) Cybertruck Long Range model might have faulty brake rotors. In a notice posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Tesla stated that “brake rotor stud holes may crack and allow the stud to separate from the wheel hub.” Such a situation might have seen some RWD Cybertruck owners merrily driving along only to then be disconcertingly overtaken by their own wheels. Musk even tried to get President Donald Trump to buy one of his Cybertrucks, creating an impromptu Tesla showroom on the White House South Lawn , no less. But, sadly, even President Trump must have smelt something was off about the truck as instead he shunned the pickup and opted for a 200-mph Model S Plaid in ultra red, clearly impressed with the interior, remarking that “ Everything’s computer! ” At the end of 2024, Karl Brauer, executive analyst at car ranking service iSeeCars , told WIRED that he’d calculated that the Cybertruck’s six recalls to date at the time made the EV “ worse than 91 percent ” of all other 2024 vehicles. Yet, despite supposedly being so unreliable, the Cybertruck did find a small but loyal audience . WIRED profiled a number of owners last year, all fervently in love with their vehicles, but who were periodically forced to endure insults and taunts that they were Nazis, perhaps referring to an on-stage gesture Musk made at the start of 2025. However, despite evidence seemingly to the contrary, Musk claims he is killing the Cybertruck, not because of its unreliability and staggering unpopularity, but because he wishes to focus instead on Cybercab, an autonomous EV that is central to Tesla’s robotaxi ambitions but itself has had a rocky start . Currently operating in Austin only, with a fleet supposedly numbered only in the hundreds, Musk apparently wants to ramp up production dramatically since he confirmed on an earnings call the first cab came off the line in February. Musk sees Cybercab as very much the vision of Tesla’s future. The CEO has even said that Tesla should no longer be regarded as an automaker but as a robotics and autonomous vehicle company . “Cybertruck was an incredible ⁠technology development platform and lives on through Cybercab,” Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill said on X .