Tesla Cybertruck hits a dead end: Elon Musk's futuristic EV launched 4 years after unveiling, sold only 10% of his target, with its biggest buyer being another of the billionaire's companies

In Elon Musk's world of robots of EVs, there has been more bad news. A vehicle that polarized opinions across the United States and the world will soon be a thing of the past. Musk has announced that Tesla will cease manufacturing of its Cybertruck at the company's Gigafactory in Texas around the middle of next year.

"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 said on his social media platform X.

Demand nowhere close to expectations

The Cybertruck, a heavy and highly-unusual vehicle, suffered with poor sales that were nowhere close to Musk's expectations. According to the automotive data platform Kelley Blue Book, Tesla sold 20,237 Cybertrucks in the US last year, nearly half of the 38,965 units sold in 2024.

At the time of launch in 2023, Musk had predicted annual sales near 250,000 units. Interestingly, the IPO for SpaceX earlier this year revealed that Musk's second-largest company was by far the biggest buyer of Cybertrucks last year, spending $131 million on the stainless-steel pickup.

The Cybertruck's bumpy ride

Tesla put a lot of time and an unspecified amount of money into the Cybertruck program, with multiple delays and recalls marring the vehicle's journey.

Musk had unveiled the truck in November 2019, promising to start production in late-2021. But the first truck came off the line at the Texas factory in July 2023, with Tesla later saying that was pilot production, according to Reuters.

The company held a delivery event at the Texas factory in November 2023, marking a four year gap between the truck's introduction and its public launch. Now the sale period is expected to be even shorter, with Musk announcing production will stop mid-2027.

Tesla has not published figures on what it spent researching for and developing the Cybertruck. But, in 2021, CNBC reported citing construction filings that Tesla intended to spend $1.06 billion on the Texas factory, where the Cybertruck is produced alongside a few other models.

In 2023, Tesla filing revealed the company planned to spend over $770 million on the expansion of the factory, CNBC reported at the time.

Nearly a dozen recalls

Through the few years the Cybertruck has been on the roads, Tesla has issued as many as 11 recalls for the vehicle, Reuters reported citing data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Some of the units required physical repairs, while others were in need of software updates. Musk is now betting on the Cybercab in his attempt to turn Tesla into a robotics and AI giant.