On April 16, Bloomberg reported that in recent months, sales of Tesla’s electric pickup truck Cybertruck have been supported by other companies owned by Elon Musk. The unusual arrangement is further evidence that the controversial pickup truck is failing to appeal to average consumers.
Figure 1: Cybertruck
According to registration data provided to Bloomberg by S&P Global Mobility, in the fourth quarter of last year, 1,279 of the 7,071 Cybertrucks registered in the United States were from Musk’s rocket and satellite manufacturer SpaceX, accounting for more than 18%. During the same period, other companies owned by Musk also purchased 60 Cybertrucks.
This means that almost one out of every five Cybertrucks registered during that period was transferred from one company in Musk's vast business empire to another. This purchasing arrangement is likely to exceed $100 million and is continuing this year.
Figure 2: Proportion of Cybertruck purchased by Musk’s other companies
The data is further evidence that consumer demand has weakened significantly just two years after Tesla began delivering the electric pickup truck. If sales from other Musk companies are excluded, Cybertruck registrations would have fallen 51% in the fourth quarter of last year. In addition to SpaceX, Musk's companies also include xAI, tunnel digging company The Boring Co and brain-computer interface company Neuralink.
“The potential buyers of Cybertruck are almost gone,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global automotive forecasting at consulting firm AutoForecast Solutions.
As of press time, Musk, Tesla, SpaceX, Boring and Neuralink have not commented on this.