Decline in Interest in Tesla Cybertruck
The hype that once surrounded the Tesla Cybertruck has significantly faded. Not long ago, Elon Musk boasted about over a million pre-orders for the angular electric pickup, confidently stating that Tesla would produce and sell 250,000 units annually.
Actual Sales Figures
However, for the first nine months of 2025, the numbers tell a completely different story. Tesla has sold only 16,097 Cybertrucks so far, which is a sharp drop of 38 percent compared to the same period from January to September 2024, when 25,974 units were delivered, according to Cox Automotive data.
Continued Sales Decline
In the first quarter of this year, Tesla delivered 6,406 Cybertrucks, followed by 4,306 in the second quarter. Deliveries slightly increased to 5,385 in the third quarter, likely spurred by the expiring federal electric vehicle tax credit.
While this third-quarter increase might initially seem positive, it is actually a 62.6 percent drop compared to the third quarter of 2024, when buyers took delivery of 14,416 trucks.
At this rate, the company is expected to finish the year with approximately 20,000 deliveries, significantly lower than the roughly 50,000 units sold in 2024.
Internal Buyers
For most automakers, this would be absolutely devastating news. However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also runs two other major companies, SpaceX and xAI, and both have started receiving hundreds of Cybertrucks.
Convenient Customer Base
It seems Tesla now has more Cybertrucks in inventory than it knows what to do with. Reports indicate that hundreds were recently shipped to SpaceX’s Starbase facility, with expectations that hundreds, if not thousands, may follow to replace gasoline-powered work trucks on site.
Over the weekend, several trucks were also spotted arriving at xAI offices, widely shared on X by several users, including Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill, who wrote:
Love to see the ICE support fleets from Tesla and SpaceX get replaced with Cybertruck. When we were engineering it, this was always part of the dream. Never imagined how hard the fleet photos at starbase would go. Looking forward to more of this.
Zero Interest
Without significant price cuts, likely amounting to tens of thousands of dollars, it is hard to imagine how Tesla can revive interest in the Cybertruck. It is no longer a must-have electric vehicle in the United States.
Its radical style, once its biggest talking point, now seems too polarizing for most pickup buyers. Practicality also remains an issue, as it lacks some of the everyday utility of traditional gasoline trucks.
Add to that Musk’s polarizing role in American politics, and the Cybertruck’s appeal seems to be narrowing faster.
Love to see the ICE support fleets from Tesla and SpaceX get replaced with Cybertruck. When we were engineering it, this was always part of the dream. Never imagined how hard the fleet photos at starbase would go. Looking forward to more of this
Cybertruck sales are significantly lagging behind initial ambitious forecasts, indicating the challenges faced by an innovative yet polarizing product in the market. Relying on internal orders from Musk’s companies may temporarily aid sales, but does not solve the core problem of limited mass demand. The future of the model will likely depend on Tesla’s ability to adapt to market reality, potentially through design updates, price reductions, or focusing on niche segments where its unique features might find a more receptive audience.