Tesla is ‘winding down’ production of the Cybertruck next year

Tesla is getting the Cybertruck ready for retirement in an effort to ramp up its robotaxi output. In an X post on Friday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the company will be “winding down” Cybertruck production at its Texas Gigafactory sometime around the middle of next year, “to make room for increased Cybercab production.”

The production plant in Austin, Texas, is the only Tesla facility that’s known to assemble the Cybertruck, and that’s equipped to make the specialized components required to build the vehicles. Musk hasn’t mentioned if Cybertruck production will be moved elsewhere, but doing so would be arduous, especially for a car that’s never sold well. While Tesla doesn’t break out individual Cybertruck sales figures, even the highest analyst estimates place the total number of deliveries at roughly 70,000 since its launch in 2023 — significantly below the 250,000 that Musk once predicted would be sold annually.

The Cybertruck has also been mired in controversy since it was introduced, from its divisive design (that isn’t road legal in many parts of the world), the numerous recalls for faulty or outright dangerous components, and the fatal accidents it’s been involved in. It’s an unusually long and complicated history for a vehicle that’s only been on the road for three years. If the Cybertruck does meet its demise in 2027, Tesla still has another ridiculous vehicle on the horizon to serve as its spiritual successor.