Abstract:
Tesla’s controversial stainless steel pickup truck is exiting the stage of history in a way as dramatic as its birth. Musk posted on the X platform on Friday that Tesla will gradually "finish" the production of Cybertruck at the Texas Gigafactory around the middle of next year, and will instead expand the production capacity of the self-driving taxi Cybercab.
Cybertruck has attracted a lot of attention with its futuristic design and bulletproof performance since its release in 2019. However, what followed was continued delays, rising prices and intensive recall records, and it has never been able to escape controversy.
This means that from the official delivery of this model to the end of production at the end of 2023, the actual sales cycle is only about three and a half years - compared with the original four-year wait from release to delivery, the ending is impressive.
Just one day before Musk announced the suspension of production, Tesla once again raised the price of Cybertruck, with the highest configuration Cyberbeast priced at US$102,490.
The situation is overturned after the release: the cracked car window lays the foundation
Cybertruck's troubles began on the day it was released.
On November 21, 2019, when Musk released this model at the Tesla Design Studio in Hawthorne, California, he specially arranged a window shatterproof demonstration-throwing metal balls at the glass.
As a result, cracks appeared in both windows, and the demonstration video quickly went viral on the Internet.
Musk later explained on the . Four years later, at the November 2023 delivery event, Tesla chief designer Franz von Holzhausen once again demonstrated throwing a baseball at bulletproof glass. This time the glass was intact.
Crafted in shiny stainless steel and with a design inspired by the dystopian style of "Blade Runner," the Cybertruck was expected to reshape Tesla's reputation at a time when its reputation is under pressure as it slashes prices to boost demand, according to analysts and brand experts.
Musk has also claimed that the car will use the same
super-hard cold-rolled stainless steel alloy as the SpaceX "Starship" rocket
, however, according to Reuters,the two actually use closely related but slightly different variants
.The booking data after the release once excited the outside world
. Musk said on November 23, 2019 that 146,000 orders had been received as of that time; a few days later, he announced that the number of pre-orders had reached 250,000 within five days of release. Tesla takes pre-orders with a $100 refundable deposit.However, the refundability mechanism casts doubt on the actual conversion value of these bookings. Some pre-orderers put their spots up for sale on eBay, with prices ranging from US$1,000 to US$8,000, which reflects that a considerable number of "buyers" are more motivated by speculation than their true intention to purchase a car.
Four years of delay, prices keep rising
Cybertruck’s road to mass production is also bumpy.
Musk initially promised to start production by the end of 2021, but by August 2021, Tesla had quietly postponed plans to 2022, only disclosing it through a note on the pre-order page. Since then, production plans have been postponed again to 2023, with Musk blaming supply chain shortages.
In July 2023, the first Cybertruck rolled off the assembly line at the Texas Gigafactory, and Tesla characterized it as trial production
. On November 30 of the same year, the official delivery event was held in Texas. Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian took over the key from Musk and became one of the first owners.In terms of pricing, Tesla’s starting price at the 2019 press conference was US$39,900, and the three-motor flagship version was US$69,900. By the time of official delivery at the end of 2023, the starting price has risen to US$60,990.
In February 2026, Tesla launched a dual-motor all-wheel drive version for $59,990. Musk said the price was "only for the next 10 days" - then rose to $69,990 in March and $74,990 in August.
Just one day before the announcement of the discontinuation of production, Tesla raised the price again. This configuration is priced at US$82,490, the Premium configuration is US$92,490, and the Cyberbeast configuration is US$102,490, which is almost double the lowest price when it was released in 2019.
11 recalls, quality problems are always there
According to data from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Tesla has issued 11 recalls for the Cybertruck since its launch at the end of 2023. Some vehicles require physical repairs, while the rest are repaired through over-the-air software updates.
The most widespread one occurred in January 2024. A recall initiated due to problems with the warning light font affected more than 2.19 million Tesla vehicles, covering many models including the Cybertruck.
In April 2024, 3,878 Cybertrucks were recalled because the accelerator pedal pad may come loose and get stuck on the interior trim panel. In March 2025, Tesla recalled 46,096 Cybertruck vehicles because the roof light bars may delaminate and fall off.
The frequent recall record corroborates the overall situation of this model since its release - from the cracked windows to the decision to discontinue production, the Cybertruck has never been able to get rid of the crack in its fate.
Comments