Let Me Be The First To Say It: Tesla Cybertruck Is A Flop

Whether you arrived at this article because you are an avid Tesla supporter and you are ready to fight any notion of Tesla's failure, or you got here because you had your suspicions - bear with me. For the Tesla aficionado: please don't bite my head off just yet. For everyone else - I'd say buckle up, but then you'd say this article was written by AI, and we'd get lost in a pointless argument. Let's get to it.

Tesla Cybertruck. Yeah, there's nothing like it. Back in the day, I thought the Lamborghini L200 was from a different planet. When Arnie started driving around in H1, I believed the end of the world was just around the corner, but no. The Earth kept on spinning. But then Elon came up with the Cybertruck, and the whole universe came to a screeching halt.

I don't know about you, but I watched the unveiling live. I stayed up until some ungodly late hour, and when the Cybertruck finally hit the stage, I thought I was hallucinating. And I don't mean that in a bad way. Oh no. My jaw hit the floor so hard it woke the missus up and the neighbors. I was giddy with excitement, I felt like a kid in a candy shop with no shopkeeper in sight. My wildest dreams came true! Here was an electric vehicle from a distant future, a truck that laughs into gas-guzzler's faces and leaves them behind in a dust of electrons. I was hooked.

And so were hundreds of thousands of people around the world. In the end, there were apparently over one million reservations - one million people signed up for Elon's wild vision of what an electric truck should be. One million people ready to shell out their hard-earned money for a slice of the future. Or so Elon hoped.

Image Credit: Tesla.

Four long years went by before the first buyers finally managed to get their hands on one of the Foundation Edition Cybertrucks. For many people, the countless delays and even shoddy finish couldn't take the shine off their new wheels. The Cybertruck has finally landed, ready to revolutionize our world.

But somewhat mysteriously, the revolution did not arrive. After the initial rush that lasted a few months, the Cybertrucks started piling up outside the factory. The workers were given compulsory time off, and the production line went silent for days. The first owners were lucky in a way; many of them managed to flip their trucks for a decent premium. In January, they were changing hands for well over $200,000. Now you can get a new one for $75,000, and used car websites are full of unsold units.

Put it simply - the Cybertruck failed to live up to the hype. Apart from the used prices falling, there were other alarm bells going off - Tesla trying to shift former Foundation trucks as standard ones after buffing off the laser-etched logos. Price cuts followed, special offers followed - nothing seems to be helping. And then Tesla released its sales numbers for 2024. And honestly? The bottom just fell out.

Image Credit: Tesla.

Tesla has been quiet about the Cybertruck sales numbers. The buzz surrounding that million orders turned into a deafening silence, but there was still no way to figure out how many trucks Tesla actually sold. But now we know.

Well, kinda. Since Tesla isn't officially reporting Cybertruck stats, I had to perform highly sophisticated napkin math calculations. In 2023, the company managed to sell 68,874 Model S and Model X units. Why is that important? Because this year Tesla bundled Cybertruck sales numbers together with the X and S. I know, it isn't a highly scientific method, but in 2024 exactly 85,133 "other" vehicles found new owners. If we presume that roughly the same number of buyers went for the Model S and Model X as in the previous year, that leaves us with 16,259 Cybertrucks.

That number can't be right, can it? Tesla was touting a production capacity of 125,000 trucks per year, with the possibility of scaling up all the way to 500,000 units. Sure, the production ramp was tough as hell, and you could expect there would still be people waiting for the delivery of their Cybertruck. But no. there aren't any orders. That "other" category lists 8,972 vehicles unsold. How many of them are Cybertrucks? I bet my lunch money that a lot.

Image Credit: Tesla.

So, what happened? A lot of things. And all of them at once. While the Cybertruck looks amazing in the pictures, owning one isn't an experience for everyone. Way more owners are critical of it than the ones truly happy with their trucks. Many complain it isn't a true truck. Teething problems are just a small part of the whole drama, and way too many people aren't ready to splash at least $75k on a rather controversial show pony.

Look, I'm not slagging off the truck or even the company. Seriously - I still believe the Cybertruck is by far the most interesting vehicle (not just electric) out there. Revolutionary? Heck yeah, in so many ways. The stainless steel exoskeleton is mind-blowing. The gigacasting technology used for its production is at the next level. The performance figures are ridiculous - a pickup truck that's faster than many supercars? Wow. And the whole thing is just so smart it makes many MIT students look silly. But…

The truth is we weren't ready for it. While we did like the idea, owning an actual Cybertruck comes with many caveats that the majority of car owners would rather live without. Those who really wanted a Cybertruck already have one. Some sold it and moved on; others will keep theirs forever. But the majority of car or truck buyers simply shrugged their shoulders and bought something much less revolutionary. Because revolutions are great in books or movies. Living through one? Not so much.

Image Credit: Tesla.

Is Cybertruck a major flop? Yes, it is. But not in the way you'd imagine. I mean, sure - from the business point of view, it is nothing but a disaster. After spending billions on development, Tesla will very likely pull the plug on it as early as this year. But from a technological point of view, the Cybertruck is a true marvel. Not pretty, but pretty amazing. And it didn't fail - we did. We failed to understand its purpose. We expected a pickup truck with some fancy tech, but Elon gave us a time machine pretending to be a truck instead.

Cybertruck will go down in automotive history as one of the most misunderstood vehicles. It is a harbinger of new technology, new manufacturing processes and new approach to mobility. Funny enough, the Cybercab is the result of the Cybertruck experiment. In 20, maybe 30 years, Cybertruck will be an amazing piece of history. Can it be saved from fast-approaching doom? I sure hope so.