Tesla can't build enough Cybertrucks to fill outstanding orders and will return deposits to buyers who won't get one — the clearest sign yet that American demand for a homegrown innovation is real, even as the company pulls the plug on its most polarizing vehicle.
Elon Musk said Monday that Cybertruck orders "far exceed" what Tesla can produce before the truck's production line shuts down in about eight months. "We will try to make as many as possible before shutting down the line in about 8 months, but will have to return deposits for a lot of people," Musk wrote. The truck is being discontinued next year.
The numbers tell a complicated story. Musk once predicted Tesla could sell 250,000 Cybertrucks a year. According to NewsBreak, Tesla sold just 20,000 in the U.S. last year and roughly 16,000 so far in 2026. NewsBreak framed the truck as having "flopped" and noted it "has had a bumpy ride, with sales collapsing." The Verge kept its reporting leaner, noting only that Musk's delivery expectations had collapsed from 250,000 and that robotaxi production was now the priority.
Musk isn't claiming the Cybertruck is unprofitable — he said it isn't. But he's making a calculated bet. "The opportunity cost of the complexity of Cybertruck is vastly outweighed by the value of incremental Cybercab production," Musk wrote. Translation: the engineering talent, factory space, and supply chain tied up in building a stainless-steel pickup can generate more value redirected toward the autonomous taxi fleet Tesla is betting its future on.
"If we have to maintain a complex production line, supply chain and allocate engineering for Cybertruck, we can't use those people or factory space and machinery for scaling Cybercab, which is the vehicle that will PROFOUNDLY transform the world of terrestrial transport!" Musk wrote Saturday on X.
The Cybertruck has also become a political lightning rod. NewsBreak reported that owners have been hit with "vandalism and abuse" during Musk's tenure running DOGE. The truck's cult following spent the weekend petitioning Musk to keep it alive. He declined, saying Tesla's engineers can "only do so many things."
Tesla is still accepting orders on its website, even with the shutdown looming. It's unclear how many outstanding orders remain unfilled.
The Cybertruck's demise follows Tesla's earlier discontinuation of the Model S and X, both axed to free factory space for the Optimus humanoid robot project. The company is pivoting hard from conventional vehicles toward autonomy and robotics — a bet that either pays off profoundly or leaves Tesla without a core product line.
The open question: when demand for a product outstrips supply and the builder walks away anyway, is that market discipline or a founder chasing the next thing? Musk is betting the company on his answer.
