End of an Error: Elon Musk Finally Puts Cybertruck Out of Its Misery

It's the end of an era.

Pour one out for the Cybertruck

because Elon Musk said production of the unloved, unwanted,

and utterly absurd pickup will end at Gigafactory Texas.

Tesla didn't respond to our questions

about whether it is ceasing production

of the Cybertruck entirely,

but currently, its Austin base is the only facility

with the specialist machinery required

to manufacture the truck's unique stainless steel body.

So what does this mean?

Well, only a limited number of people ever drove

or even saw a Cybertruck in the metal.

It's effectively banned in the EU, the UK,

Australia, and New Zealand.

By March last year,

fewer than 50,000 polarizing pickups had been sold in total,

certifying Elon's end of days EV as a flop.

Musk even tried to get President Donald Trump

to buy a Cybertruck, creating an impromptu Tesla showroom

on the White House South Lawn in 2025.

President Trump shunned the Cybertruck,

opting instead for a 200-mile-an-hour Model S Plaid.

Even before deliveries began in November '23,

Cybertruck was beset with design issues

and subject to 11, yes, 11 federal safety recalls,

ranging from dangerously faulty accelerator pedal pads,

the wrong glue, leading to panels potentially flying off,

and even the chance that the Cybertruck's owner's wheels

might detach and comedically overtake their own vehicle.

Yet, despite supposedly being so unreliable,

the Cybertruck did find a small but loyal audience.

Wired profiled a handful of owners last year,

all fervently in love with their pickups,

but who were periodically forced to endure insults

and taunts that they were extremists.

We even discovered the unlikely prospect

that the Cybertruck possibly ended marriages.

When Wired spoke to self-confessed

Cybertruck champion Roger Davis from San Diego

about his love for the pickup,

he confessed, I was married, but I'm not married anymore.

Women don't like the vehicle.

So what's next for Tesla?

In his post on X announcing that Cybertruck production

was winding down, Musk said that Gigafactory Texas

would be switching focus on pumping out Cybercabs instead.

The autonomous EV is central to Tesla's robotaxi ambitions,

even though it too has had a rocky start.

Will you miss the Cybertruck,

or are you happy to see the stainless steel back of it?