Demand for Tesla's Cybertruck vastly outstrips manufacturing capacity at the Texas facility, according to a Monday statement from chief executive Elon Musk on X. The company will be forced to issue refunds to numerous customers as the production line prepares to close.

Musk stated: "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." He did not specify the number of affected customers or the total refund amount.

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2119691615774146614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The announcement follows Musk's Friday disclosure that Tesla intends to wind down Cybertruck manufacturing at its Austin-area facility around mid-2027. This decision will allow the company to repurpose the production space for building Cybercabs, its autonomous robotaxi vehicle. According to Reuters, Tesla plans to add an extra production shift to process remaining Cybertruck orders before the line closes.

The Texas facility represents Tesla's sole known manufacturing location for the Cybertruck, and it remains unclear whether production will transfer elsewhere.

The Cybercab Strategy

Tesla's two-seat Cybercab, which features no steering wheel or pedals, began production in Texas this year. The company launched paid robotaxi rides in Austin during September. The vehicle sits at the heart of Musk's vision to reshape Tesla as an artificial intelligence and robotics enterprise, with the Texas plant capable of producing more than 125,000 Cybercabs annually.

Cybertruck Performance and Market Reality

Tesla introduced the stainless steel Cybertruck in 2019 and commenced customer deliveries in late 2023, following multiple production delays. Musk previously projected the truck could achieve annual sales of 250,000 units.

Actual performance has fallen dramatically short of this target. United States sales declined 48 percent to 20,237 vehicles last year, compared with 38,965 in 2024, according to Kelley Blue Book data. The first nine months of this year saw an additional 28 percent drop, the Associated Press reported using the same source.

In August, Tesla raised Cybertruck pricing again, with the base model now starting at $74,990. The company also cancelled reservations across Australia and New Zealand in recent weeks, nearly seven years after initially accepting orders in those markets, according to Not a Tesla App.

When responding to commentary on X, Musk characterized the Cybertruck as the "best vehicle Tesla has ever made" and described the production wind-down as the "end of an era".

Source: The Next Web