Tesla to halt production of Cybertruck and Model Y to make way for Robotaxi
Electric vehicle maker Tesla is reportedly putting a pause on Cybertruck and Model Y production at its Austin, Texas factory starting June 30, as reported by Business Insider.
The break, which was allegedly announced during a staff meeting, is reportedly for maintenance.
However, it also marks the third time the Austin site has paused production in the last year.
What’s coming next?
The spotlight is now on the company's fully driverless ride service. Tesla's Robotaxi is expected to launch in Austin on June 22. Musk himself reposted a clip on X earlier this month showing a Model Y-style Robotaxi cruising through the city.
This would be the first time Tesla rolls out its long-promised autonomous transport service, designed to operate without a driver at all.
But not everyone’s convinced
Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) features have drawn a lot of criticism, especially from safety advocates. Federal data shows the systems have been involved in hundreds of crashes and dozens of deaths.
Right now, customers can pay extra for FSD—also known as “FSD Supervised.” Except, it still requires someone behind the wheel. The Robotaxi fleet will reportedly use a new version of the software that doesn’t, although that version still isn’t available to the public.
In Austin, protesters have already taken to the streets. Some groups rallied last week against Tesla's Robotaxi launch and Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration.
What people are saying online
On r/stockmarket, user @onepunch_gtr shared a CNBC article with the caption, "Tesla stock slips after report EV maker is pausing Cybertruck and Model Y production."
Commenters quickly chimed in.
“Almost like alienating your core customer base who leans left and does buy EVs by simping for Trump to gain favor with the right who doesn’t is bad for business or something,” one person wrote.
“Elmo tweet to DENY DENY DENY (only to later be proven a lie and stock manipulation) in 3…2…,” another said sarcastically.
“Retooling?” asked a third. Someone else replied, “No, they’ve just got too many sat in storage unsold.”
Whether the Robotaxi rollout lands smoothly—or not—remains to be seen.
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