Everyone has bought something they swore was the best purchase of their life. Most people don't build a factory line around it.
Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk spent seven years calling the Cybertruck his company's crown jewel. Now the stainless-steel pickup is being shown the door.
“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 on Friday.
One X user called the news the “end of an era.” Musk didn't argue.
“True, but the Cybertruck fleet will be around for a long time,” he wrote.
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He Said It, Then Said It Again
Musk was calling the truck a masterpiece before anyone had seen it.
“This could be totally wrong,” Musk said on Tesla's third-quarter earnings call in 2019. “I could be totally out to lunch here, but I think the Tesla Cyber Truck is our best product ever.”
He didn't back off. After driving a production candidate at the Texas factory, he wrote on X in August 2023, “I think this is our best product ever.”
He set big targets too. On Tesla's third-quarter earnings call in 2023, Musk said Tesla could eventually build about 250,000 Cybertrucks a year. He added that it wouldn't happen in 2024.
In December 2025, he praised it again on X, calling it “our best ever from Tesla.”
The Showroom Never Got The Memo
Buyers didn't share his enthusiasm. Tesla sold 20,237 Cybertrucks in the U.S. in 2025, down 48% from 38,965 the year before, according to Kelley Blue Book estimates from Cox Automotive.
This year has been worse. Cox estimates put Cybertruck sales at 11,586 through September, including 4,323 in the third quarter.
Some of the demand came from inside the family. Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX), better known as SpaceX, spent $131 million on Cybertrucks at suggested retail prices in 2025, according to its initial public offering filing.
The Sticker Shock Never Wore Off
Tesla advertised a $39,900 starting price when it revealed the truck in 2019. That's roughly $50,000 in today's dollars. Deliveries didn't start until late 2023.
The price only went up from there. Right after Friday's announcement, Tesla raised prices again and stopped taking orders for the base Dual Motor version. The cheapest Cybertruck buyers can order now costs $92,490. The Cyberbeast lists at $102,490.
Quality problems hurt too. In March 2025, Tesla recalled 46,096 Cybertrucks, every 2024 and 2025 model built through late February. A stainless-steel exterior trim panel could detach while the truck was moving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Calling something your best product ever is easy. Getting people to buy it is the hard part.
Musk may be right that the fleet will be around for a long time. The 250,000-a-year dream won't be. At this year's pace, Tesla will sell fewer than 16,000 Cybertrucks in 2026.
On the date of publication, Caleb Naysmith did not directly have a position in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.