In the weeks after Tesla unveiled its Cybertruck in November 2019, the automaker claimed to have logged more than 1 million advance reservations. As it turns out, only a handful of those have been translated into actual sales. Now, the automaker has an estimated 10,000 unsold trucks piled up on dealer and factory lots – worth about $800 million. The lack of demand has led Tesla to pull the plug on a range extender option that was supposed to deal with the truck’s limited range. Headlight.News has more.
Even a helping hand from Pres. Donald Trump has done little to build demand for Cybertruck.
When Tesla finally delivered its first Cybertrucks in November 2023 CEO Elon Musk boldly forecast it would be one of the automaker’s biggest hits. Now, it seems, the electric pickup is Tesla’s first big dud.
Demand has lagged far below original expectations – Tesla at one point claiming to have logged more than 1 million advance reservations. According to data analyzed by website Electrek, the automaker currently has at least 10,000 unsold Cybertrucks sitting at dealers or in factory lots, that backlog worth at least $800 million, even after recent price uts.
One reason why Cybertruck sales have lagged expections is the truck’s relatively poor range. Originally expected to deliver as much as 500 miles per charge, the figure fell to just 320 when production began. But a range-extending second battery pack Tesla was developing has now been abandoned, the automaker confirmed last week.
Tesla can’t convert reservations to sales
The Cybertruck windows broke unexpectedly during Cybertruck’s original debut.
In the weeks after Tesla CEO Elon Musk first unveiled the quirky Cybertruck back in November 2019 it looked like it would be a massive success. Within weeks, the automaker said, it had logged over 1 million advance reservations carrying $100 refundable deposits. As Tesla tooled up its new factory in Austin, Texas, Musk forecast sales would easily top out at the factory’s rated 250,000 vehicle annual capacity.
It hasn’t come close. While Tesla was vague with sales data, industry analysts using registration numbers estimate the carmaker delivered a mere 38,965 of the electric pickups last year. And demand has since fallen off a cliff. It appears sales came in at around 6,400 for the first quarter of 2025.
While it’s possible Tesla could boost demand with recent price cuts there are few signs of a sales surge. If anything, Cybertruck is feeling the same backlash that has resulted in a global fall-off in sales of all Tesla products.
What’s gone wrong
It hasn’t helped to have had eight recalls since Cybertruck was first delivered to retail customers in Nov. 2023.
On the whole, Tesla is facing big problems, the company hit by ongoing protests against Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration. Add in the increasing competition in the EV market and Tesla suffered a 12.9% year-over-year decline in sales during the first quarter of 2025.
For many, the oversized Cybertruck has become a symbol of the political backlash swirling around Musk and Tesla. It has been widely derided as the “Swasticar.”
But Cybertruck had big problems from the moment it went into production. For one thing, it didn’t come close to meeting key targets first announced by Musk back in 2019. For one thing, the most efficient version of the truck could manage a mere 320 miles per charge. While that matched the best version of the Ford F-150 Lightning, it was well off the originally promised 500 miles range.
Add the fact that, in November 2019, the base rear-drive package was promised at around $40,000, the three-motor Cyberbeast at $70,000. When Musk handed over the first Cybertruck keys the numbers had swelled to $60,990 for the bast model — before delivery fees – and the AWD package jumped to $79,990. The top-line Cyberbeast came in at $99,990.
Tesla has tried discounting the Cybertruck to build momentum and recently launched a new base rear-wheel-drive package for $69,990. There’s been no indication it’s done much to boost sales, however.
More Tesla News
- Tesla’s Entry EV Set to Debut in June
- State Dept. Accused of Cover-Up as it Kills $400 Mil Cybertruck Purchase Plan
- Tesla Halts Cybertruck Deliveries as Body Panels Fly Off
Range extender killed
Tesla has canceled the Cybertruck range-extender project.
To overcome concerns about range, Tesla had been promising to launch a new battery pack which could drop into th front part of the cargo bed. For $16,000, it said, drivers would get nearly the range Musk originally promised in 2019. Tesla, however, has now killed off that program.
If limited range, high pricing and backlash to CEO Musk haven’t done enough to alienate potential buyers, the truck has also been hit by eight recalls during its short life.
Meanwhile, reviews have been far from kind, Consumer Reports recently trashing the electric pickup for a wide variety of faults and shortfalls.
Tesla has slashed production of the Cybertruck, transferring some line workers to other vehicle programs. That’s led some observers to speculate that ever bigger cuts will follow. Whether the automaker might kill the program entirely is another topic now being widely debated.
My daughter calls them “big, dumb swasticars.” Also, I think all 30K of them have been sold in our area. You can’t swing an out of control non-self-driving Model Y without hitting a Cybertruck.
Almost as bad as the GM Hummer EV. Most important spec: PRICE.
Well what goes around, comes back around and gets you,the same pain you hurt the people with, now you will feel the same pain, the OPRESSOR with come to an END!
Elon still has several billion in contracts with other countries so your narrative doesn’t fly. Also, go to the Tesla website and check out Cybertrucks, they are selling even with Dems screwing the economy over last 4 years. He will never ever be broke and since they are developing the new Internet, will never be censored either.
Next time include the fact that no truck manufacturer has been selling a lot of trucks these last 4 years. I know because my neighbor works at a car dealership and has been saying that NO trucks have been selling. Try using complete facts upon comparison.
First, we mentioned weak demand for F-150 Lightning and have written extensively about that. Secondly, we did use complete facts. Please don’t confuse that with your opinions. The fact is Cybertruck is not a major export vehicle, no more than are other electric – and gas full-size trucks, such as Lightning and regular F-150s. Cybertruck will live or die on U.S. sales and demand has crashed. Tesla has slashed production rates and apparently doesn’t see that bouncing back as it has transferred many CT line workers to other programs. The truck was supposed to sell at a 250,000/year rate. It will be lucky to reach 15-20% of that this year. If anything, the company’s sales continue to slow in every single market. Europe is off at least 50% year-over-year. China? Electrek wrote this the other day: https://electrek.co/2025/05/12/tesla-tsla-slows-down-in-china-despite-new-model-y-production/
I’m not going to debate politics here but note that, until recently, Tesla was soaring in the U.S. and worldwide until recently.
As to Musk going broke? I wouldn’t begin to predict that…and certainly didn’t. I will suggest that you do homework on the subject of censorship, however, as you may find that Musk has actually begun restricting and banning even some of his Republican and MAGA critics on X, not just Democrats. Censorship is censorship.
Paul A. Eisenstein