Tesla's Cybertruck is falling far short of Elon Musk's ambitious sales targets
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
- Things are not looking great for Elon Musk's Cybertruck.
- Tesla sold just over 20,000 of the "apocalypse-proof" pickup in the US last year, per industry data.
- Musk once said Tesla could sell 250,000 Cybertrucks a year, but it has faced quality and demand issues.
The Cybertruck is running out of road.
Tesla sold 20,237 Cybertrucks in the US last year, according to data from Cox Automotive released on Tuesday, as demand for Elon Musk's "apocalypse-proof" pickup fizzled.
That's nearly half the number Tesla sold in 2024, and sales dropped 68% year-on-year in the final quarter of 2025.
The figures are a far cry from the target of 250,000 sales a year Musk set before the Cybertruck rolled off the production line in 2023.
The divisive electric truck amassed over 1 million reservations, but early models launched with a price tag of over $79,000, significantly higher than the nearly $40,000 sticker price Musk had floated in 2019.
Since then, demand has been underwhelming — and collapsing sales have not been the only speed bump.
The Cybertruck has faced a series of quality issues, with 10 recalls since 2023.
While some of those issues have been fixed with a simple software update, others have proved more problematic. Tesla has issued recalls for accelerator pedals that could get trapped at full throttle, an optional off-road light bar that may detach and fly off the truck, and the Cybertruck's comically large windshield wiper failing.
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Meanwhile, the Cybertruck's highly distinctive design, which caused Tesla significant production issues, has had the unintended effect of turning the angular EV into a target.
Multiple Cybertruck owners told Business Insider last March that they had been hit by vandalism and verbal harassment amid the backlash over Tesla CEO Musk's federal cost-cutting at the Department of Government Efficiency.
Tesla has employed some creative strategies for turning around the Cybertruck's sales slump.
Business Insider's Grace Kay reported in April that the EV giant was quietly rebranding the futuristic pickup as a working man's truck. And SpaceX, Musk's rocket company, has taken delivery of an unspecified number of Cybertrucks.
Unlike Tesla's other vehicles, however, the Cybertruck is only available in a limited number of countries.
Tesla sells the pickup in Mexico and Canada, and recently started sales in Korea, but the Cybertruck's hulking stainless-steel body and sharp edges make it almost impossible to sell in Europe and China, two of the EV giant's largest markets.
Tesla also launched the Cybertruck in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar last year — three oil-rich nations where chargers are scarce, and EV sales are low.
The Cybertruck's woes mean it is unlikely to help Tesla turn around its global sales slump. Sales of all Tesla vehicles declined for the second consecutive year in 2025, with Chinese rival BYD surpassing it to become the world's biggest EV maker.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a Business Insider request for comment.
Automakers slam the brakes on EV trucks
Musk is not the only one to see ambitious plans for big electric pickups fall flat.
Ford sold just over 27,000 of its flagship F-150 Lightning electric truck in 2025 and last month announced that it would replace the EV with an extended-range hybrid offering 700 miles of range.
Other automakers have also backed away from electric pickups as an "EV winter" has taken hold in the US following the end of the $7,500 tax credit.
Stellantis canceled plans to build an all-electric RAM truck in September, while Ford and GM have signalled they plan to build more gas-powered pickups as they rack up billions of dollars in charges over their EV strategy shifts.
What the future holds for the Cybertruck is unclear. Tesla quietly removed the option to buy a cheaper, rear-wheel drive trim from its website after just five months in September, and there has been no word on mooted plans to build a smaller version of the truck, which still starts at around $80,000 in the US.
Publicly, Musk doesn't seem bothered by the Cybertruck's low sales, regularly praising the stainless-steel truck on his X feed.
"Cybertruck is an incredible vehicle. Our best ever from Tesla," he wrote last month.