Tesla to wind down Cybertruck production in Texas to make room for Cybercab
In brief
- Cybertruck production at Gigafactory Texas winds down around the middle of next year, Musk said.
- The wind-down makes room for increased Cybercab robotaxi production, Musk said.
- Q3 'other models' deliveries fell 48% year over year to 8,295, per Electrek.
- Tesla and SpaceX boards have formed special committees to evaluate a possible merger.
What Musk said
Musk announced the change in a post on X, as reported by Decrypt. His wording was specific about the reason:
"Tesla will be winding down production of the Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of next year to make room for increased Cybercab production"
He didn't treat it as a goodbye, either. When a user called the Cybertruck the best vehicle Tesla has ever made, Musk replied that the Cybertruck fleet would be around for a long time. Wes Morrill, the truck's lead engineer, wrote that the Cybertruck was a technology development platform that lives on through the Cybercab.
The sales picture
The stainless-steel pickup first reached customers in late 2023, and it's struggled to win buyers since. Electrek reported that Tesla delivered 8,295 vehicles in its "other models" category (which includes the Cybertruck) in the third quarter, down 48% from a year earlier. By Electrek's estimate, that puts sales at roughly a tenth of the 250,000 units a year the production line was built to make. That's Electrek's comparison, not a Tesla figure.
Musk's stated reason was Cybercab capacity.
Cybercab, and a possible SpaceX tie-up
Tesla began offering Cybercab rides in limited areas of Austin on September 3, Reuters reported. The car has no steering wheel or pedals and was first unveiled in October 2024. Tesla started producing it in April and had 45 registered in Texas as of the launch, according to Reuters. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said at the time it was "evaluating the situation," since federal rules typically require cars to have human controls. At the 2024 unveiling, Musk said he expected the Cybercab to cost around $30,000, Auto Express reported.
The shift comes as Musk weighs combining Tesla with SpaceX, which absorbed his AI company xAI earlier this year. Last month he said both boards had formed special committees of independent directors to evaluate a merger, and a SpaceX filing confirmed any combination would need sign-off from its controlling shareholder, Musk. It's an evaluation for now, not an agreed deal.
For crypto watchers, there's a balance-sheet angle. Decrypt noted that a merger would combine SpaceX's 18,712 BTC and Tesla's 11,509 BTC for a total of 30,221 BTC, worth roughly $2.3 billion at current prices. Both companies have also blocked their shares from being offered on the tokenized stock venue being built by OKX and NYSE owner ICE.
