New York (AFP) – Tesla has decided to throw in the towel on its Cybertruck, a futuristic pick-up whose sales have never met its stated ambitions, in favor of the brand new Cybercab, intended for robotaxi services which illustrates the group's new priorities: robotics and autonomy.

Published on: 06/11/2026 - 20:38

“Tesla will gradually reduce production of the Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of next year to make way for increased production of the Cybercab,” Elon Musk, boss of the American manufacturer, published on Friday on X.

The conservative multibillionaire presented the Cybertruck during an evening with great fanfare in December 2023 at the group's headquarters in Austin (Texas).

“I think it’s our best product,” he said then, “the most exceptional object on the road. The future will finally look like the future.”

“It’s better than a pickup and better than a sports car, rolled into one,” he continued.

Machine gun fire on the doors without causing a hole, traction of a construction machine or a rocket reactor, race won against a Porsche 911, Elon Musk put on a great show.

But the richest man in the world then got involved in 2024 as closely as possible with Donald Trump's presidential campaign, spending hundreds of millions of dollars for the Republican camp.

Tesla's global sales have also been weighed down by its involvement in the Trump government and its support for far-right governments in Europe. Tesla has been targeted by vandalism, calls for boycotts and protests.

Sales have since resumed, but the Cybertruck has never met with the expected success. At the end of 2023, Elon Musk anticipated production of 250,000 copies in 2025 and at the time mentioned an order book exceeding one million.

The manufacturer has never given production or sales figures for the pick-up, whose angular silhouette seemed off-putting, as did its high price. At launch, it cost from $60,990 to $99,990 depending on the version.

“Poor” request

A recall carried out in March 2025 by the American highway safety agency (NHTSA), which concerned all Cybertrucks, gave an indication: 46,096 copies, between November 13, 2023 and February 27, 2025.

An important customer is the space company SpaceX, which is also owned by Elon Musk and could merge with Tesla in the coming years. The rockets are notably towed by Cybertrucks on the launch pads.

The stop "was written given the high price of the Cybertruck and poor demand", Dan Ives, director of Yorkville Ives, told AFP, stressing that Mr. Musk was now "focused on the era of robotics and robotaxis".

Garrett Nelson, of CFRA Research, discusses precedents of production stopping after a few years, such as recently concerning electric vehicles, notably Ford's F-150 Lightning pickup (2022-2025).

Elon Musk did not specify Friday whether his pickup would be manufactured in another factory, but he responded to a tweet calling it "the end of an era": "It's true. But the Cybertruck fleet is going to be here for a long time."

He justified this cessation of production by the rise of the Cybercab, a vehicle designed specifically to operate as a robotaxi and launched at the beginning of September on the streets of Austin and, more recently, in Dallas.

But, on the very first day of launch, NHTSA opened an investigation to determine whether the vehicle met federal standards.

The Cybercab is a vehicle with the silhouette of a coupe and gold bodywork, without a steering wheel, pedals and mirrors, and equipped with gullwing doors. Its trunk can hold up to two hold suitcases and two cabin suitcases. It can carry two people.

It was unveiled with fanfare in a Hollywood studio in October 2024. At the time, Elon Musk spoke of manufacturing "at least 2 million Cybercabs per year", and up to four million eventually in several factories.

The businessman praised the new vehicle in early September as "simply a comfortable lounge on wheels with a great TV and great sound."

According to FSD Database, which compiles data from the Texas Motor Vehicle Agency (DMV), Tesla recorded 1,244 robotaxis on Friday.

Tesla has been providing this service with its Model Y consumer SUVs equipped with autonomous driving software since June 2025, and Cybercabs since September.

© 2026 AFP

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