Tesla will keep building the Cybertruck until the end of summer 2027, extending a production run that Elon Musk had only days earlier said would wind down by the middle of next year. Musk announced the change on his X social media platform, saying the pickup would be built "through the end of summer 2027".
The extension follows Musk's earlier statement that Tesla would "try to make as many as possible before shutting down the line in about eight months", while acknowledging the company would "have to return deposits for a lot of people". He said Tesla would add another shift at its Texas Gigafactory to maximise output.
A short life for Tesla's stainless steel pickup
The Cybertruck launched three years ago and has sold far more slowly than Musk predicted. He had forecast annual volumes of 250,000 once production reached full speed, but only around 63,000 examples are understood to have been delivered in total, with 8,295 finding homes in the most recent financial quarter.
The original plan to stop building the truck would have given it a life cycle of roughly four years, against more than a decade for the Model S saloon and Model X SUV, which bowed out last year. Tesla is pivoting resources toward the ramp-up of its autonomous Cybercab taxi.
Sentiment over profit, according to Musk
Musk framed the reversal as a decision driven by affection for the truck rather than returns on its development costs, which are estimated at almost $6 billion. "This is not the smartest move from a profit-maximising standpoint btw, but there must be some room in this world for sentimentality or what's the point?" he said on X.
He has been candid about the truck's commercial uncertainty since its 2021 unveiling, saying then that "there is always some chance that Cybertruck will flop, because it is so unlike anything else".
The extension keeps Tesla's US lineup at three models for almost another year. It is not clear whether every order will be fulfilled, nor whether the Cybercab programme will be delayed as a result.
What sits under the angular bodywork
The Cybertruck uses a conventional EV skateboard platform with a 122.4kWh battery, optionally paired with a 50kWh range-extender package, feeding a multi-motor powertrain with as much as 833bhp in the top Cyberbeast variant.
It is one of the few electric pickups on sale in a market that has been slow to move away from large petrol and diesel engines, to the point that Ford has retired the Tesla's only real rival, the F-150 Lightning. The Cybertruck was never sold officially in Europe because of safety concerns over its sharp bodywork.
The extension lands weeks after Tesla drew global attention with the debut of its new Roadster supercar, which drove vertically and upside down to demonstrate downforce-boosting fan technology before performing a 'kickflip' to show off its jet thruster system. Musk said the firm plans to put the Roadster on public roads in two years, giving Tesla a headline-grabbing flagship EV at £250,000-plus to replace the Cybertruck.
