Tesla has suffered a massive drop in Cybertruck sales, with Elon Musk’s EV giant struggling to find a market for its pickup truck. Musk once boasted that the company could produce 250,000 Cybertrucks a year, but it sold only 5,400 trucks last quarter.
Business Insider reports that Tesla’s Cybertruck, once touted as an “apocalypse-proof” pickup truck by CEO Elon Musk, has experienced a sharp decline in sales over the past quarter. According to data from Cox Automotive, Tesla sold approximately 5,400 Cybertrucks in the last quarter, a staggering 62.6 percent drop compared to the same period last year. This decrease in sales comes despite Tesla and the broader electric vehicle market reporting record quarterly sales, as buyers rushed to purchase EVs before the expiration of the federal tax credit.
When the Cybertruck was first unveiled in 2019, Musk ambitiously stated that Tesla could produce up to 250,000 units per year. However, nearly two years after its launch in November 2023, the stainless steel-clad pickup truck is far from reaching that target. So far in 2025, Tesla has sold only around 16,000 Cybertrucks, a figure that pales in comparison to initial expectations.
The Cybertruck is also facing stiff competition from its main rival, Ford’s F-150 Lightning. In the third quarter, Ford sold 10,000 Lightnings, outpacing the Cybertruck’s sales performance. Tesla’s struggle to find a market for the Cybertruck can be attributed to several factors, including its high price point and unconventional design. These factors have contributed to sales woes earlier this year as well.
When the Cybertruck first hit the market in 2023, early versions were priced at around $100,000, significantly higher than the $39,990 starting price Musk had initially advertised. Although Tesla has since introduced more affordable options, the cheapest Cybertruck currently available still costs nearly $80,000, after the company scrapped a $70,000 rear-wheel drive version with fewer features.
Tesla is also facing multiple lawsuits over the Cybertruck. One claims the Cybertruck is “defectively designed” after a fire that burned so hot the driver’s skeleton disintegrated.
In another recent case, Tesla is accused of designing the Cybertruck with faulty door handles after a crash killed three teens:
The fatal crash occurred in Piedmont, California, and also claimed the lives of the Cybertruck’s driver, 19-year-old Soren Dixon, and another occupant, 20-year-old Jack Nelson. A fourth occupant was rescued from the burning vehicle by a witness who used a tree branch to break the window.
According to the 36-page complaint, Tesla’s Cybertruck doors are powered by a 12-volt battery, which can fail during a crash, causing the electronic door mechanism to malfunction. The lawsuit also states that the interior manual release is hidden and difficult to locate, effectively trapping occupants inside the vehicle.
The Tsukaharas’ attorney, Roger Dreyer, described the incident as a “horror story” and accused Tesla of being aware of the issue but failing to address it adequately. “Tesla knows that it’s happened and that it’s going to happen, and they are doing nothing but selling the car with a system that entraps people and doesn’t provide a way of extraction,” Dreyer said in an interview.
Read more at Business Insider here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
