Elon Musk announced the carmaker will halt assembly of the electric pickup in Texas to expand Cybercab robotaxi manufacturing.
Tesla will wind down production of the Cybertruck at its factory in Texas around the middle of next year, chief executive Elon Musk announced late Thursday night. Musk said on the social media platform X that the company is reducing output at the Austin facility to make room for its autonomous Cybercab robotaxi, as CNET reported. Musk didn’t say whether Tesla will move manufacturing to another plant or stop making the pickup completely.
Shifting factory space to autonomous vehicles
Wes Morrill, the project lead for the pickup, wrote on X that the vehicle served as a development platform that will continue through the Cybercab, according to TechRadar. The decision aligns with a broader shift under Musk toward artificial intelligence, robotics and driverless fleets instead of releasing a steady stream of traditional passenger vehicles. Beyond building robotaxis, Tesla also plans to use the Texas plant to assemble its Optimus humanoid robot, The Guardian reported.
The Cybercab, which Tesla unveiled in 2024, is a two-seat vehicle designed without a steering wheel or pedals, Engadget noted. Tesla began offering rides in limited areas of Austin in early September, drawing a federal safety investigation into whether the design complies with federal standards. Tesla aims to sell the autonomous cab for under $30,000, with production expected to increase in Texas next year.
Sales shortfalls and mechanical troubles
The production wind-down follows years of manufacturing hurdles and weak demand. When Tesla introduced the angular truck in November 2019, it aimed for a starting price near $40,000, or $39,900 according to Engadget. By the time customer deliveries began in late 2023, the base price had reached $60,990 according to CNET, while Engadget placed it at $59,900. Tesla dropped the least expensive configuration after five months on the market.
Sales never approached Musk’s public goals. The Guardian reported that Musk sought to sell 200,000 pickups each year, while TechRadar and Engadget reported an annual target of 250,000. Engadget reported that total sales reached approximately 71,000 trucks since deliveries began in late 2023, and TechRadar estimated 2026 deliveries at about 30,000. During the third quarter of 2026, Tesla delivered 8,300 vehicles across its other models category, which bundles the Cybertruck with the Semi truck and discontinued lines. Tesla had installed capacity for an estimated 125,000 Cybertrucks a year in Texas, leaving unsold vehicles on factory lots, though SpaceX bought $131 million worth of the pickups last year.
Engineering challenges surfaced early in the truck’s lifecycle. Safety regulations kept the vehicle from going on sale in Europe. Owners reported disappointing battery range and weak off-road performance, while Tesla never delivered a planned range-extending battery pack. Recalls also hit the model, including one triggered by concerns that wheels could detach. In an earnings call in 2023, Musk acknowledged the manufacturing struggle, stating, “We dug our own grave with Cybertruck.”
A narrower consumer car lineup
Phasing out the Cybertruck leaves Tesla with a much smaller consumer vehicle lineup. The company discontinued its Model S sedan and Model X sport utility vehicle in January to repurpose space at its Fremont, California, factory for Optimus robot manufacturing. That leaves the Model 3 and Model Y as the company’s remaining mainstream consumer offerings, which together accounted for 478,000 deliveries in the third quarter of 2026.
Tesla is continuing to ramp up production of its electric Semi truck, and the company showcased a redesigned Roadster with rocket thrusters in October ahead of a planned production release in 2028.
The announcement followed financial setbacks for Musk earlier in the week. Republican political candidates supported by $446 million of Musk’s donations lost in the US midterm elections. The market drop cut Musk’s paper fortune by $113 billion, with Tesla shares falling 11% and SpaceX shares slipping 9% on Thursday.
