Tesla Is Killing the Cybertruck: a Million Reservations, Around 71,000 Sold, and Neither the Price nor the Range Was What Musk Promised

Tesla will stop producing the Cybertruck next year, Elon Musk announced on Friday. The stainless-steel pickup, unveiled almost seven years ago with a window that shattered in front of the audience, is now leaving production - not as the icon Musk promised, but as an expensive experiment.

The numbers tell the story better than any presentation. In 2023 Musk claimed reservations had reached one million. According to industry estimates, around 71,000 vehicles have been sold since the first deliveries in November 2023. From a million interested people to a few tens of thousands of buyers - that is the difference between applause in the hall and money at the till.

And the promises were specific. Musk talked about a range of 500 miles, or around 805 kilometres, and a price under 40,000 dollars. The Cybertruck reached neither. Buyers got a vehicle that was more expensive and had less range than the one they applauded on stage.

The design, which drew sighs even from the most loyal fans at the unveiling, will easily become the culprit in the official version. But the market for a pickup like this was always small, and the practical reasons - price and range - weigh more than looks. A big announcement, rapture in the hall, then a quiet retreat when the numbers don't add up: how many times have we seen that script outside the car industry too?