The key facts

  • Cybertruck production will be halted in about eight months, around mid-2027
  • Tesla will return deposits to many customers because it will not fulfill all orders; the number of unfulfilled orders has not been disclosed
  • Musk explains the decision as shifting capacity to production of the two-seat Cybercab robotaxi, not as unprofitability of the model

Decision to wind down production

Tesla will stop producing the Cybertruck pickup in about eight months, company chief Elon Musk said on Monday on his X. According to him, Tesla will try to build as many vehicles as possible before the line closes, but it will have to return deposits to many people, because the pace of orders exceeds current production capacity. Musk did not disclose how many orders remain unfulfilled, who exactly will receive a refund, or how the company will decide whose orders to fulfill.

The rationale: not unprofitability, but Cybercab

Musk rejected suggestions that production is being wound down because the model is unprofitable. In his words, the opportunity cost of Cybertruck complexity is significantly outweighed by the value of additional Cybercab production — that is, the plant space, equipment and workers are to be redirected toward expanding output of the two-seat Cybercab robotaxi, which has no steering wheel or pedals. Musk had spoken earlier about using capacity for the Cybercab, on Friday, when he announced that production at Gigafactory Texas would wind down around mid-2027, and then said an additional shift would be added to close more orders in time.

From forecasts to actual sales

The statement contrasts sharply with earlier expectations. After deliveries began in late 2023, four years after the unveiling, reservations, according to Musk, reached a million, and he himself forecast sales of around 250,000 vehicles a year. Reality proved different: Tesla does not disclose Cybertruck sales separately, but industry experts estimate total sales at roughly 71,000 vehicles since November 2023. According to Kelley Blue Book, US sales fell from 38,965 units in 2024 to 20,237 in 2025 — down 48%. TechCrunch also notes that a significant share of sales came from Musk's own companies: SpaceX (now SpaceXSI) bought $131 million worth of Cybertrucks in 2025, while xAI bought $430 million worth of Megapacks for its data centers. The end of production may produce a final surge in demand, but, as the outlet writes, scarcity is unlikely to return demand to its former ambitious forecasts.