Tesla will wind down Cybertruck production at Gigafactory Texas by mid-2027, CEO Elon Musk announced, freeing the line for Cybercab robotaxis. The stainless-steel truck that was supposed to move 250,000 units a year never came close — and the establishment press is calling it a Musk failure. The real story: Americans don't want government-engineered electric vehicles, and no amount of subsidy or mandate can change that.
The Guardian branded the Cybertruck a "failed effort to take a chunk of the lucrative market for pickups." The Hartford Courant and Mechanicsburg Patriot News ran near-identical copy about the truck's "polarizing allure" escaping buyers. TechCrunch catalogued every broken promise from the 2019 unveiling. The narrative writes itself.
What the narrative buries: the EV market itself is the problem. Kelley Blue Book estimates Cybertruck sales cratered 48% from 2024 to 2025, and fell another 28% through September of this year. Cox Automotive reports just 11,586 units sold year-to-date against a production capacity of 125,000. The peak year saw roughly 25,771 sold — and International Business Times reported that number was padded because SpaceX purchased 1,279 Cybertrucks in Q4 2025. Musk's own companies accounted for about 19% of U.S. registrations that quarter.
The truck never met European safety standards and couldn't be sold there. Back home, NHTSA is auditing Tesla's self-certification that the Cybertruck met federal safety standards. "NHTSA fully supports the safe development and deployment of automated vehicles. But as the federal regulator, we need to ensure that all of our laws are followed," said Administrator Jonathan Morrison. Results are pending.
Musk acknowledged the challenge himself on a 2023 earnings call: "We dug our own grave with Cybertruck." The original pitch — under $40,000, 500 miles of range — became $60,000 and over 100 miles less. Multiple recalls marred the debut. Several outlets noted the truck became a target for protesters after Musk backed Trump and led DOGE, but they frame that as Musk's fault rather than the mob's.
What matters is the pivot. The Texas factory will build Cybercabs — two-seat autonomous robotaxis with no steering wheel — plus Optimus humanoid robots. Tesla already killed the Model S and Model X for the same reason. The company is betting on AI and autonomy, not on selling subsidized electric trucks to a market that only exists because Washington willed it.
The press will keep calling this a downfall. The open question: can Musk escape the mandate economy fast enough to build something the market actually wants?
