Lifeline for Cybertruck as Tesla extends production to fulfil orders
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that the firm will continue producing the Cybertruck until late 2027, having last week said the prismatic pick-up would retire by the middle of the year.
Posting to his X social media platform last Friday, Musk said Tesla would be “winding down” Cybertruck production at its Texas ‘Gigafactory’ by the middle of 2027, as it pivoted resources to the ramp-up of its autonomous Cybercab taxi.
In the three years since it launched, the Cybertruck has sold far more slowly than expected: Musk predicted annual volumes of 250,000 once production was at full speed, but only around 63,000 examples are understood to have been delivered in total – with only 8295 finding homes in the most recent financial quarter.
Nonetheless, the move to end production came as a shock given it will give the Cybertruck a lifecycle of just four years – compared to more than a decade for the Model S saloon and Model X SUV which bowed out last year.
Earlier this week, Musk said Tesla would “try to make as many as possible before shutting down the line in about 8 months, but will have to return deposits for a lot of people”, pledging to add another shift at the Texas plant to maximise output.
But now, Musk has announced that production will be extended beyond the initial eight-month window, with Tesla now scheduled to continue building the Cybertruck “through the end of summer 2027”.
It is not clear if that means all orders will be fulfilled, nor if it signals a delay in the Cybercab programme, but it does mean Tesla will maintain a three-car offering in its home market of the US for almost another year.
Musk said the decision was not taken with a view to maximising return on the Cybertruck’s exorbitant development costs – estimated at almost $6 billion – but with an appreciation for the truck’s cult appeal and significance.
“This is not the smartest move from a profit-maximizing standpoint btw [by the way], but there must be some room in this world for sentimentality or what’s the point?” he said on X.
The move comes just weeks after Tesla stole headlines worldwide with the debut of its new Roadster supercar, driving a prototype vertically and upside-down to showcase its downforce-boosting fan technology, before launching it into the air and performing a ‘kickflip’ to demonstrate its jet thruster system.
It is widely acknowledged that the stunt car was far from production-spec, as it had a visibly rudimentary chassis and blacked-out windows shielding the interior, but Musk said the firm plans to put the Roadster on public roads in just two years’ time. That will effectively give the firm a headline-baiting flagship EV – albeit a much more expensive one, at £250k-plus – to replace the Cybertruck.
Posting in 2021 after its unveiling, Musk was candid about his pick-up’s uncertain commercial prospects: “To be frank, there is always some chance that Cybertruck will flop, because it is so unlike anything else.
“I don’t care. I love it so much even if others don’t. Other trucks look like copies of the same thing, but Cybertruck looks like it was made by aliens from the future.”
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