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Nov 7, 2026

Tesla Shelves the Cybertruck to Clear the Track for Musk’s Robotaxi Push

Tesla will wind down Cybertruck production at its Texas factory around mid-2027 to expand Cybercab output. Musk casts the truck as a technology stepping stone, but its departure follows disappointing sales, recalls and a polarizing public run.

Tesla’s Cybertruck experiment is heading for its final lap in Texas. Elon Musk said the company will wind down production at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of next year, freeing factory capacity for increased output of the Cybercab robotaxi.

The move closes a chapter that began in 2019, when Musk unveiled the angular stainless-steel pickup as a challenge to a century of conventional truck design. Tesla began deliveries in late 2023, but the vehicle’s eye-catching design never translated into the mass-market breakthrough Musk had once envisioned.

Cox Automotive estimated U.S. Cybertruck sales at 20,237 last year, down 48% from 38,965 in 2024. That was a long way from Musk’s earlier projection of eventual annual sales of 250,000. The truck also accumulated 11 voluntary recalls for its 2024 model year, spanning risks including a trapped accelerator pedal, software defects and an inverter fault that could cut drive power.

For Musk and Tesla supporters, though, the shutdown is not an admission that the project was pointless. In reposting a tribute to the vehicle, Musk endorsed the argument that the Cybertruck was an “incredible technology development platform” whose work “lives on through Cybercab.” He separately said the Cybertruck fleet would remain on the road for a long time.

That framing places the truck inside Tesla’s larger pivot toward artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous transport. The Cybercab, a two-seat robotaxi that Tesla has presented as central to its future, will now take over production space shared with the Cybertruck and Model Y in Texas.

Yet the Cybertruck leaves behind a divided legacy: a niche of fiercely attached owners, and a record of underwhelming demand, quality problems and unusual cultural baggage. Owners told CNBC they had faced hostility and road rage connected to the vehicle’s association with Musk’s political profile. In the end, Tesla is treating its most conspicuous pickup less as a destination than as a bridge to the next bet.

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