With more and more of its electric pickups sitting unsold in factory and dealer lots, Tesla is again cutting prices. But will that be enough to build demand for the much-maligned Cybertruck? More from Headlight.News.
Cybertruck Production at Tesla’s Austin plant has slowed sharply as sales have crashed.
If you’re one of the seemingly few motorists still interested in purchasing a Tesla Cybertruck you might want to move fast.
The automaker has cut prices on the base model — but it’s giving buyers just 10 days to purchase the all-electric for under $60,000.
And motorists who opt in for the deal will need to realize that they’ll be sacrificing a number of features that earlier buyers have prized, including the air suspension, with its adjustable ride height, offered on the more popular version of the truck. The Dual Motor base package also has a significantly lower towing and payload rating.
From boom to bust
Cybertruck has never lived up to its expectations. When first revealed in November 2019, Tesla promised it would be able to travel 400 miles or more on a single charge, and that the base package would come in at around $40,000.
A lineup of unsold Cybertrucks.
That triggered a cascade of advanced reservations — according to some reports, more than 1 million potential customers plunking down $100 deposits. But translating those advance reservations into actual sales hasn’t worked out as planned, reflecting a variety of factors.
It didn’t help that the production model fell well short on range, even with pricing coming in substantially higher than promised. The fact that Cybertruck has so far been recalled 10 times hasn’t helped its reputation.
Making matters worse, Cybertruck became the symbol of opposition to CEO Elon Musk’s foray into politics under the Trump administration.
Sales peaked in 2024 at just 38,965, well below what the automaker had tooled up its assembly plant in Austin, Texas to handle. Last year, Tesla dealers delivered just 20,237 Cybertrucks, a 48% year-over-year downturn. Even with repeated production cuts that’s led to a pile-up of unsold trucks sitting at the factory, on dealer lots and in storage yards around the country.
Cutting the Price
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the good deals on the Cybertruck are good for only 10 days.
Tesla has repeatedly cut prices on Cybertruck hoping to kick-start demand.
The latest discount takes the base model to its lowest cost ever. The official new price is $59,990, though that comes up to $62,235 when delivery and fees are factored in.
The base model still features twin motors — Tesla early on determining there simply wasn’t enough of a market for the once-envisioned single-motor base package.
The twin-motor base package sacrifices the air suspension system. It also sees its towing rating drop from 11,000 to 7,500 pounds, while cargo capacity is trimmed from 2,500 to 2,006 pounds. Range, however, remains 325 miles. The base package has less fancy bed lighting and loses its handy L-tracks for tying down cargo in the bed. Inside, there are textile seats and only those up front are now heated. Rear-seat passengers also lose their own video displays.
The base Cybertruck does retain its powered frunk and four-wheel-steering capability, however, and buyers can still order the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system for $99 a month.
More EV News
- Own an EV? Study Says You’re All But Certain to Trade In on Another
- Tesla Drops Autopilot Name to Keep Selling Cars in California
- First Drive: Toyota C-HR
Will it work?
Unsold Cybertrucks piled up earlier this summer in the parking lot of a now-closed Bed Bath & Beyond store in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Whether the new deal will do much to move the Tesla metal is uncertain. Tesla has struggled to find buyers for Cybertruck despite previous price cuts — but this latest reduction puts the electric pickup in a better position compared to existing competitors.
A comparable Ford F-150 Lightning – which Ford is now phasing out – comes in at $65,940. The Rivian R1T Dual Standard package is $74,990. And the Silverado EV WT, or Work Truck, package, starts at $55,395 — all those numbers before factoring in delivery and other fees.
The problem for Tesla is that the Cybertruck has become highly politicized and, industry analysts note, many potential buyers simply don’t want to be seen in one. The distinctively styled pickup has won over some customers from the political right but those buyers appear not to be coming into showrooms in the numbers that can replace more liberal shoppers who have abandoned the Tesla brand.
0 Comments