Elon Musk once said the Cybertruck would “change everything.” Turns out, it might just be Tesla’s most expensive mistake.
After more than a year on the market, Tesla’s long-hyped Cybertruck is on track to become the biggest failure in modern auto history, missing Musk’s original sales goal by a staggering 84%. According to Forbes, Tesla sold under 40,000 Cybertrucks in 2024, despite gearing up to manufacture 250,000 annually. It’s not just falling short—it’s nosediving.
“It’s right up there with the Edsel,” said Eric Noble, president of CARLAB. “A huge swing and a huge miss.”
What Happened?
Tesla’s polygonal, stainless-steel behemoth was supposed to be the future of electric trucks. Instead, it’s become a rolling punchline—dogged by 8 recalls in 13 months, falling body panels, and a design that even diehard fans are calling “unusable.”
“The spectacular failure of Cybertruck was a failure of empathy,” Noble added.
Beyond design, there are more practical issues. The 6,600-pound truck doesn’t meet pedestrian safety regulations in many countries, which severely limits its export potential. That leaves it mostly confined to a U.S. market that—so far—isn’t buying.
Musk’s Fantasy, Reality’s Burn
Despite installing a massive production line at its Austin Gigafactory, Tesla is now sitting on an estimated $200M worth of unsold Cybertruck inventory. According to researcher Glenn Mercer, total development costs approached $900M, and the stainless steel build—a move made to save $200M on a paint shop—has backfired.
“They drooled over not spending $200 million on a paint shop,” Mercer said. “But probably spent that much trying to get the stainless steel to work.”
Cybertruck’s lack of platform-sharing with other Tesla models also makes it a standalone money sink.
The Launch Was a Disaster. The Fallout Is Worse.
From the viral 2019 window-shattering demo to its 2023 “Cyberbeast” variant costing over $105,000, the truck’s journey has been riddled with PR disasters and broken promises. The original $39,900 entry-level price? Nowhere to be found. The current cheapest model starts at $82,235 before tax credits—which Trump is now trying to eliminate.
Musk also claimed “demand is off the charts,” with 1M+ preorders. But analysts now say sales are dropping further in 2025, thanks to ongoing recalls and global anti-Tesla protests tied to Musk’s controversial political alignment with Trump.
Reviews, Reddit, and Ridicule
Across social media and even Reddit’s 280K-strong r/CyberStuck subreddit, fail videos, mechanical breakdowns, and videos of Cybertrucks getting towed by Ford F-150s have gone viral. Meanwhile, used Cybertrucks are already selling for as low as $70,000—a rare sight for a “new” Tesla.
Tesla’s total Q1 deliveries dropped 13% year-over-year, marking its worst quarter since 2022. The Cybertruck’s underperformance is believed to be a major reason why.
Final Word
Elon Musk’s Cybertruck is more than just an aesthetic gamble—it’s a textbook case of ignoring your customer, overhyping the product, and under-delivering massively. With limited global appeal, ballooning costs, and a brand image under fire, the Cybertruck is shaping up to be Musk’s first real automotive faceplant.
And unlike the DeLorean, this one won’t be remembered for time travel—just a bad time in Tesla’s history.
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