Tesla Is Killing the Cybertruck to Make Room for Robotaxis — Its Third Product Cut for the AI Pivot

Tesla will stop making the Cybertruck next year, and the company's own CEO is the one who announced it. According to TechCrunch, Elon Musk said on X that Tesla will use the factory space to build more two-seater Cybercab robotaxis.

The numbers explain the decision. When Musk handed over the first few trucks in late 2023, TechCrunch notes, he predicted sales of around 250,000 a year. Tesla has instead sold only tens of thousands in total over the last three years. The 2019 promises of a sub-$40,000 starting price and up to 500 miles of range were never met: the base price inflated to around $60,000 and top-end range shrank by more than 100 miles.

## A pattern, not a one-off

The Cybertruck is the third product Tesla has dropped to feed its AI and robotics ambitions. Earlier this year, per TechCrunch, the company ended the Model S and Model X to free up space for Optimus humanoid robots. Now the truck that Tesla once treated as the identity of its Texas factory, which it called the "Cybertruck factory" before construction, is giving way to a two-seater robotaxi.

That is the real story. Tesla is no longer defending its consumer car lineup as the core business; it is shrinking it in favor of robotaxis and robots. The Cybercab has been on the streets of Austin for roughly two months with no major incidents reported, and Tesla says Dallas is next later this month, according to TechCrunch.

## What to watch

Details are thin. We don't yet have an official end-of-production date beyond "next year," nor any word on what happens to existing orders, warranty support or the Cybertruck's unusual steel-body tooling. Tesla also hasn't said how many Cybercabs the converted space could turn out.

The bigger test is whether robotaxi revenue can replace the vehicle sales Tesla is walking away from. The Cybertruck was a flop by Musk's own forecast, but it was also a product people could buy today. The Cybercab's economics still depend on regulators, expansion city by city, and a safety record that is only a couple of months old.

— via TechCrunch