Elon Musk says Tesla will have to return 'a lot' of Cybertruck deposits
Tesla is discontinuing the Cybertruck to free up resources for its dedicated robotaxi. Reginald Mathalone/NurPhoto via Getty Images Elon Musk said said the order backlog for the Cybertruck "far exceeds" what Tesla can build. The electric truck is being axed next year, and Musk said Tesla will have to return a lot of deposits. The Cybertruck has had a bumpy ride, with sales collapsing and owners hit with vandalism and abuse. Putting money down doesn't guarantee you'll get one of the last Cybertrucks to roll off the line. Elon Musk said on Monday that the number of Cybertruck orders "far exceeds" Tesla's capacity to build them before the electric pickup is discontinued next year . "We will try to make as many as possible before shutting down the line in about 8 months, but will have to return deposits for a lot of people," the Tesla CEO wrote. Musk added that the Cybertruck was not unprofitable, but said that scaling Tesla's Cybercab robotaxi was more of a priority. "The opportunity cost of the complexity of Cybertruck is vastly outweighed by the value of incremental Cybercab production," he said. Musk announced on Friday that Tesla would stop production of the Cybertruck, which debuted in 2023. It is unclear how many Cybertruck orders Tesla has outstanding, and the company still appears to be accepting orders on its website. The Cybertruck order rate far exceeds our production rate. We will try to make as many as possible before shutting down the line in about 8 months, but will have to return deposits for a lot of people. This is not a case of Cybertruck being unprofitable, as has been misreported… https://t.co/rGmNKV3ILs — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 9, 2026
The angular electric truck launched with high expectations — Musk predicted Tesla could sell 250,000 a year — but has flopped. Tesla sold just 20,000 Cybertrucks in the US last year, and has sold around 16,000 so far in 2026. The pickup also became a target for anti-Musk protests and vandalism during the billionaire's stint running DOGE. The Cybertruck maintains a cult following among Tesla fans, who spent the weekend petitioning Musk on X to give the EV a stay of execution. However, the billionaire pushed back, writing on Saturday that Tesla's engineers can "only do so many things" and that the Cybercab was more important to the company's future. "If we have to maintain a complex production line, supply chain and allocate engineering for Cybertruck, we can't use those people or factory space and machinery for scaling Cybercab, which is the vehicle that will PROFOUNDLY transform the world of terrestrial transport!" Musk wrote. The Cybertruck's cancellation is the latest signal that Tesla is moving away from conventional vehicles. The company also discontinued the Model S and X premium EVs earlier this year to free up factory space for its Optimus humanoid robot. Read the original article on Business Insider