Tesla will wind down production of its Cybertruck electric pickup truck around the middle of next year to make room for increased production of the Cybercab robotaxi, chief executive Elon Musk has announced — ending the run of the company’s most polarising vehicle after less than four years.
Key Points
- Musk announced on X on Friday that Cybertruck production at Gigafactory Texas will wind down around mid-2027.
- The factory space will be used to build more Cybercabs, Tesla’s purpose-built two-seat robotaxi.
- Cybertruck sales have stalled at roughly a tenth of the 250,000 units a year Tesla built the line for.
- Tesla has shipped about 16,000 Cybertrucks so far in 2026, after 20,000 last year.
“Tesla will be winding down production of the Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of next year to make room for increased Cybercab production,” Musk wrote in a post on X on Friday, November 6. He later called the decision the “end of an era”. Wes Morrill, Tesla’s Cybertruck lead engineer, confirmed the move in a separate post, writing: “Cybertruck was an incredible technology development platform and lives on through Cybercab.”
Selling at a tenth of the plan
The Cybertruck launched in late 2023 as Tesla’s first pickup, carrying a starting price well above Musk’s original $39,900 promise, and it has faced at least six recalls for quality and safety issues. Sales have fallen far short of expectations: Tesla sold 11,586 Cybertrucks in the first three months of 2026, down 28% from 16,097 in the same period last year, according to Cox Automotive. Tesla does not break out Cybertruck deliveries, but its “Other Models” category — which includes the Cybertruck, Model S, Model X and Semi — delivered just 8,295 vehicles in the third quarter of 2026, down 48% year on year and the lowest since the second quarter of 2021. The production line was built for 250,000 trucks a year, and Tesla’s shareholder letter still lists more than 125,000 units of installed capacity — so the truck is selling at roughly a tenth of the plan.
The robotaxi bet
The Cybercab, unveiled in October 2024, is a purpose-built, fully autonomous two-seat vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals. Tesla’s second-quarter 2026 update reported that Cybercab production had already begun at Gigafactory Texas, and 463 Cybercabs were registered in Texas as of late October. Musk has said Tesla plans to expand its Robotaxi service to “a dozen or so” states, and told investors last month that production of the Optimus humanoid robot has begun, with deliveries to customers expected by the end of next year.
What happens next
Musk’s announcement said nothing about how long Tesla will keep selling Cybertrucks from inventory, or what happens to parts and service for existing owners. The next scheduled moment for answers is Tesla’s fourth-quarter earnings call, when Musk is expected to face questions about Cybercab production timelines and Gigafactory Texas capacity. For the safety scrutiny already facing the robotaxi, see our report on US safety regulators scrutinising Tesla’s new autonomous Cybercab service, and for the chip slump hitting Tesla’s shares, the Nasdaq plunging 5.5% after the midterms. More in our Technology section.
Sources: USA Today, “Why Tesla is ending Cybertruck production and what comes next”; Electrek, “Tesla to end Cybertruck production as sales stall at ~10% of plan”.