Tesla will wind down Cybertruck production in 2027 to make room for driverless Cybercabs

Tesla will stop making the Cybertruck, ending the electric pickup after years of poor sales¹. Production at the company’s Texas Gigafactory will wind down around mid-2027, Chief Executive Elon Musk said^3,5. The Texas facility is the only location where the Cybertruck is produced⁷.

Musk said the move is meant to make room for production of Cybercabs, autonomous taxis without a driver². The pickup will start to be consigned to the past next year⁴.

Tesla began delivering the Cybertruck to customers in late 2023¹. The vehicle’s bulk and crude shape meant it could only pass regulatory standards in more permissive markets⁴.

Why it matters to investors

The decision retreats from a flagship model in the electric-vehicle business Tesla helped pioneer, as Chinese rivals gain ground¹. It shifts the Texas factory’s capacity toward the robotaxi program^2,7.

Tesla is also refreshing its high end. The latest Roadster is due to go into production in 2028 and is said to go from zero to 100kph in one second⁵.

The announcement comes as Musk’s wider political bet unravels. Musk wagered nearly half a billion dollars that political spending could keep Washington friendly to his business empire, and on Tuesday that bet came up short as Democrats recaptured Congress¹⁰. Estimates of the sum differ: one put his Republican bet at $445 million¹¹, another at US$474m¹⁰.

House Democrats have called for investigations into his work at DOGE and promised to scrutinize federal funding for his companies⁶. The defeat raises questions about what happens now to Tesla, SpaceX and his China ties¹⁰, with potential investigations and summons tied to his DOGE role¹¹.

What to watch

Musk spoke at the Baron Investment Conference on Friday^8,9. He said there that SpaceX’s revenue is exploding⁸, and he touted data centers in space as a solution to the data center dilemma⁹.

For Tesla shareholders, the wind-down timeline, around the middle of 2027, gives a marker for the shift of the Texas plant from the pickup to Cybercab production^2,3.

The Cybertruck was described in coverage of the decision as a flop⁴. Its end leaves the planned Roadster, due in 2028, and the Cybercab as the next new vehicles in Tesla’s pipeline^2,5. Musk’s comments on Friday focused as much on SpaceX and space-based data centers as on Tesla’s cars^8,9.