Production of the Tesla Cybertruck, as well as the newly updated Model Y, will be paused later this month. The temporary move comes at a time when both products are struggling due to slow demand. Separately, Tesla is facing pressure to delay the launch of the long-awaited Robotaxi tentatively scheduled to also roll out of its Austin, Texas plant this coming weekend. More from Headlight.News.
Unsold Cybertrucks pile up in the parking lot of a now-closed Bed Bath & Beyond store in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Tesla told workers at its Austin, Texas assembly plant that it will temporarily halt production of both the Cybertruck pickup and Model Y SUV starting June 30.
The move was announced during a staff meeting, according to Business Insider, company officials saying it will be used to conduct maintenance at the facility. But that explanation has drawn skepticism from industry-watchers. Several suggested it is more likely meant to permit the automaker to draw down stocks of unsold vehicles, especially the slow-selling Cybertruck, which have been building up around the country.
Separately, Tesla is being asked by a group of Democratic lawmakers in Texas to delay the launch of its robotaxi pending the enactment of a new state law covering the operation of autonomous vehicles. The automaker’s CEO Elon Musk had indicated as many as 10 self-driving cabs could begin rolling out of the Austin plant on June 22.
Cybertruck production halted again
Cybertruck sales have now fallen behind those of the Ford F-150 Lightning.
“Maintenance is a vague term,” said Sam Fiorani, lead analyst with AutoForecast Solutions, that is more than occasionally used by automakers “when they have not enough demand and too much supply.”
What’s clear is that Tesla currently doesn’t doesn’t need more Cybertrucks. What is scheduled to be a week-long shutdown of the Austin line would mark the third time over the past year that Tesla has publicly acknowledged delaying production of the pickup.
In the weeks after it was first unveiled in November 2019, Tesla claimed to have logged over 1 million advance reservations – each with a $100 deposit – for the electric pickup. Since delivering the first Cybertrucks four years later, however, sales have severely lagged expectations. Where Tesla tooled up to produce 250,000 a year at the Austin plant, less than a quarter of that number were actual sold.
During the first quarter of 2025, only 7,126 of the trucks were registered, according to S&P Global Mobility. That put it second among all-electric pickups, with that number nearly 10% below the 7,913 Ford F-150 Lightnings registered in the U.S. during the January-March period. Preliminary tracking data suggest the trend hasn’t moved much, despite discounting and other steps taken by Tesla.
If anything, the automaker has been found to be parking substantial numbers of Cybertrucks at locations across the U.S., including the parking lot for a now-closed Bed Bath & Beyond store in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Model Y makeover hasn’t clicked
The updated Tesla Model Y does not appear to be doing much to rebuild demand.
Tesla reports production delivery numbers on a quarterly basis. It experienced another downturn during the first quarter after a big global slide last year. Tracking firms, such as S&P Global Mobility and Cox Automotive are seeing signs through registration data that Tesla’s slum continues to worsen.
New EV registrations, overall, fell 4.4% in April, marking the first monthly decline in 14 months, according to S&P. But the majority of automakers in the battery-electric sector actually reported gains, some rising by triple digits. Tesla single-handedly dragged the segment into the red, analysts concluded, with a 16% year-over-year dip.
The automaker had expected to do far better, largely based on this year’s launch of Project Jupiter, the mid-cycle refresh of its best-selling product line, the Model Y.
Though official data is yet to come, initial indications are that the update has failed to lure many new buyers into Tesla showrooms, said AutoForecast analyst Fiorani. “It’s hard to pin your hopes to a refresh, rather than a ground-up makeover,” he told Headlight.News.
More Tesla News
- Musk Sets “Tentative” Date for Robotaxi Launch
- Tesla v Waymo: Get Ready for the Duel of the Robotaxis
- VW, Uber Launch New Ride-Sharing Partnership
Tesla under pressure to delay Robotaxi launch
While Tesla while launch Robotaxi service with a modified Model Y it eventually plans to launch a specially designed product, a rendering of the CyberCab shown here.
The Austin factory also will produce a modified version of the Model Y which will mark the launch of Tesla’s long-promised Robotaxi service. Eventually, the automaker plans to introduce a unique vehicle, dubbed CyberCab, but the venture will first get underway using Model Ys outfitted for driverless operation.
Musk earlier this month said “tentative” plans” call for as many as 20 robotaxis to roll out of the Austin plant on June 22. That’s a 10-day delay from the earlier launch target, Musk saying it was because, “We are being super paranoid about safety.” And, if anything, “the date could shift” again.
That’s what a group of Democratic lawmakers from Texas are hoping. They’ve written to the Tesla CEO asking that the launch of the service be delayed pending tentative passage and enactment of a new state law that would cover the operation of autonomous vehicles.
That, the letter said, “is in the best interest of both public safety and building public trust in Tesla’s operations.”
The automaker has not yet responded to the lawmakers, nor has it replied to questions from this publication about both its production halt and robotaxi plans. Tesla no longer operates a media communications department.
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