THE CRUNCH
Tesla will stop making the Cybertruck at its Texas factory around the middle of next year, Elon Musk has announced, with the plant switched over to building the Cybercab, the company's two-seat, steering-wheel-free self-driving taxi. Musk broke the news on X, saying the change would "make room for increased Cybercab production". He did not say whether the Cybertruck might be built elsewhere, though the vehicle's specialised tooling would make that a costly undertaking.
The end was long foreshadowed. Musk said on a 2023 earnings call that Tesla had "dug our own grave with Cybertruck", citing "enormous challenges" in producing the truck's unusual steel shell and making money from it. Deliveries only began in late 2023 after repeated delays, and the truck never went on sale in Europe because it failed to meet required safety standards.
Sales never came close to Musk's stated aim of 200,000 a year. Tesla does not break out Cybertruck figures, but in the third quarter of 2026 the "other models" category that includes it accounted for just 8,300 deliveries, against 478,000 combined Model 3 and Model Y deliveries. Even that figure overstates the truck, since the category covers more than the Cybertruck. Tesla has also this year ended production of the ageing Model S and Model X.
The pivot fits Musk's stated strategy of betting Tesla on robotics, artificial intelligence and an autonomous fleet rather than a steady stream of new models for private buyers. As well as the Cybercab, the Texas plant will build the Optimus humanoid robot, while the long-delayed Semi lorry is still ramping up and a Roadster sportscar is targeted for 2028. The Cybercab service itself currently offers paid trips only in limited parts of Austin, amid close regulatory scrutiny of driverless technology.