Tesla’s Cybertruck struggled from development through production and sales, failing to achieve the scale once envisioned by Elon Musk. Its unconventional design, repeated recalls and discontinuations, and growing association with Musk’s political vision have made the vehicle increasingly divisive. With demand never taking off, prospective buyers who want a truck that reflects that vision may have only a few months left to purchase one.
Developing the Cybertruck proved more difficult than usual for Tesla, which had already faced major challenges bringing the Model 3 and Model Y into mass production. Musk demanded “Lego-like precision” from the workers assembling the truck. However, based on what I saw during a hands-on experience with the first Cybertruck, the production process clearly did not achieve the 10-micron tolerances associated with the Danish toy company.
In 2023, Cybertruck coverage centered largely on recalls and discontinuations. By then, the truck had adopted a unibody chassis, a design more traditional for Tesla than for a full-size pickup. Later that year, Musk told an audience that “we dug ourselves a grave,” possibly acknowledging publicly for the first time that annual Cybertruck sales of 250,000 units would not materialize.
Sales never took off, while the Cybertruck’s divisive shape became a prominent reminder of Musk’s role in reshaping the federal government according to his preferred vision. Even sales of thousands of Cybertrucks to SpaceX could not rescue the pickup. As the United States increasingly rejects Musk’s approach to governance, buyers seeking a vehicle that signals support for that vision may have only a short window remaining.
Source: arstechnica.com