The Cybertruck never came close to Musk's sales projections. Tesla delivered 38,965 of the trucks in 2024 and just 20,237 in 2025, a 48% drop, according to Kelley Blue Book figures cited by Reuters. In the third quarter of 2026, Tesla reported that deliveries in the category that includes the Cybertruck had fallen 48% year over year to 8,295 vehicles. The company had installed capacity for more than 125,000 Cybertrucks annually at its Gigafactory near Austin, Texas.

Quality and safety problems have shadowed the vehicle since deliveries began in November 2023. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has logged 11 recalls, including a 2024 recall over accelerator pedals that could become trapped and a 2025 recall covering more than 46,000 trucks because exterior panels could detach while driving. In April 2026, another recall affected 173 vehicles over brake rotor defects that could cause wheel studs to separate.

The truck's door design has also drawn scrutiny. Tesla announced last year that it was redesigning its door handles after more than 140 reports of occupants becoming trapped inside. In March 2026, Jordan Miller, the sole survivor of a 2024 Cybertruck crash in Piedmont that killed three people, filed a lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court alleging that faulty door locks trapped him in the burning vehicle and worsened his injuries. The parents of two of the people killed in that crash filed a separate suit last year, alleging their daughter died of smoke inhalation and burns after being unable to escape.

Musk has continued to defend the Cybertruck, calling it the "best vehicle Tesla has ever made" and the production wind-down the "end of an era." Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill said on X that the project was "an incredible technology development platform" that "lives on through Cybercab."

When the Cybertruck was unveiled in 2019, Tesla advertised a starting price of $39,900 and a 2021 launch. By the time deliveries began in late 2023, the entry price had climbed to $60,990. Analysts have pointed to the high price and limited demand as major obstacles, and the broader market for electric pickups has struggled, with Ford and other automakers facing similar difficulties.

The truck's angular stainless-steel construction also limited its appeal overseas. "Anywhere where you have crash regulation that takes into account pedestrian impact, that Cybertruck won't go, can't go," former Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer told Reuters, calling the production cut a predictable response to missed sales targets.

Tesla has not said whether Cybertruck production will move to another plant or end entirely. The Texas factory is the only known facility equipped to build the truck's specialized components.

Musk is now betting heavily on the Cybercab, which Tesla unveiled in 2024. The vehicle has no steering wheel or pedals and is designed for a network of autonomous taxis. Production began in Texas in April, and Tesla started offering paid rides with a limited fleet in Austin in September. But the robotaxi program remains in its early stages: about 570 of the more than 1,200 Tesla robotaxis operating in Texas are Cybercabs, with the rest mostly Model Y vehicles, according to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. The NHTSA opened an audit in September into Tesla's self-certification of the Cybercab after requesting more information about its compliance with federal safety standards.