Elon Musk announced on Friday that Tesla will wind down production of the Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas around mid-2027 to make room for increased Cybercab robotaxi production. The announcement came via a post on X, where Musk confirmed the strategic pivot: "Tesla will be winding down production of the Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of next year to make room for increased Cybercab production."
The decision marks the end of a troubled run for the stainless-steel pickup, which began deliveries in late 2023 but struggled to find buyers. Tesla does not report Cybertruck sales separately, grouping them under its "Other Models" category, which delivered just 8,295 vehicles in the third quarter—down 48% year-over-year from 15,933 units in the same period last year. Electrek estimated that roughly 7,000 to 8,000 of those were likely Cybertrucks, far below the 250,000 to 500,000 annual units Musk once projected. Musk had warned as early as a 2023 earnings call that Tesla had "dug our own grave with Cybertruck."
Musk did not specify when production would fully stop or whether it would move to another factory, describing the process as a gradual slowdown. Tesla is now prioritizing its autonomous vehicle ambitions, with the two-seat Cybercab—which has no steering wheel or pedals—joining the Robotaxi fleet in Austin on September 3, 2026. The company has also started charging for rides in select areas. Vehicle engineering chief Lars Moravy confirmed in an October earnings call that Tesla had begun building Cybercabs at the Texas factory, with the first units earmarked for Tesla's own Robotaxi fleet. The company spent $2.76 billion on research and development in Q3, up from $1.63 billion a year earlier, underscoring the shift toward AI and robotics.
Against this backdrop, Musk is weighing a merger between Tesla and SpaceX, which absorbed his AI company xAI earlier this year. Both companies' boards have formed special committees of independent directors to evaluate the combination. A SpaceX filing confirmed that any deal would require sign-off from its "controlling shareholder," Musk. If completed, the merger would create a major Bitcoin treasury holding: SpaceX's 18,712 BTC combined with Tesla's 11,509 BTC would total 30,221 BTC, worth approximately $2.3 billion at current prices. Both Tesla and SpaceX have also blocked their shares from being offered on the tokenized stock venue being built by crypto exchange OKX and NYSE owner ICE.
The announcement comes during a difficult period for Musk. Republican candidates he donated $446 million to lost in the US midterm elections, and his personal fortune reportedly fell by about $113 billion. Tesla shares dropped roughly 11% on Thursday amid a broader tech selloff, though they recovered nearly 2% in Friday premarket trading to around $350.
