Elon Musk’s Edsel is no more. Last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed on social media that his car company is ending its failed attempt to wrest control of the American pickup truck market. The Cybertruck will cease production in the middle of 2027, liberating that space in Tesla’s cavernous factory for other uses—more Cybercabs, most likely…
… That was in 2023, when Cybertruck headlines were mostly about recalls and stop sales. By then, the truck used a conventional unibody chassis—conventional for Tesla, not for full-size pickup trucks. Toward the end of that year, Musk told his audience that “we dug our grave” with the truck, perhaps the first public acknowledgment that annual sales of a quarter of a million Cybertrucks probably wasn’t going to happen after all.
Sales never took off, and the Cybertruck’s divisive shape became an all-too-visible reminder of the CEO’s role in reshaping the federal government to his liking. Even selling thousands of Cybertrucks to SpaceX couldn’t save the pickup. Now, with America having vociferously rejected Musk’s vision of governance, those wishing to drive something that reminds everyone around them of that vision will only have a few months more to purchase one.
Amazing how quickly the Cybertruck became an object of contempt on American roadways… driving one quickly evoked contempt by every other driver on the road. As far as I can tell none of them were ever useful for anything and there appears to have been little resell value. I suspect that markets will develop around enthusiasts, but the Cybertruck is the kind of vehicle that requires substantial support from its producer, which is no longer available.
Anyway, I think there’ll come a day when we wax nostalgic about the last time we saw a cybertruck in the wild.