Tesla is winding down production of its Cybertruck, with Elon Musk saying manufacturing would stop at approximately the midpoint of next year at the company's Texas factory, The Guardian reported. Tesla had anticipated selling more than 250,000 Cybertrucks per year, but last year sold just over 20,000 units, 7NEWS reported.
The Cybertruck launched three years before the wind-down announcement and was positioned as a competitor to petrol and diesel utes and pickup trucks. The vehicle went through eight separate recalls for defects during its production run. The Texas plant will be repurposed to manufacture the Cybercab, Tesla's self-driving taxi.
Musk said Tesla's future lies in robotics, artificial intelligence and a self-driving fleet, departing from the traditional carmaker model of launching successive new vehicles to draw in private buyers. His broader strategy now centres on robo-taxis and self-driving vehicles without conventional controls such as steering wheels or pedals. Musk did not indicate whether Tesla plans to produce the Cybertruck at another facility, though doing so would likely require substantial investment in specialised tooling.
Technology expert Stephen Fenech said the Cybertruck was never going to meet Australian compliance requirements. The vehicle was never sold in Australia, and customers who had placed deposits of $150,000 were informed the local rollout had been cancelled.
Fenech said electric utes and pickup trucks as a category are not gaining widespread consumer adoption, with many buyers remaining committed to petrol and diesel vehicles. The Cybertruck's discontinuation reflects wider difficulties in the electric vehicle segment, particularly for electric utes and pickup trucks.
In the week the Cybertruck wind-down was announced, Republican candidates Musk had supported with $446m in donations lost in US midterm elections, and the paper value of his fortune fell by $113bn.
Australian consumers who had placed deposits of $150,000 on a Cybertruck have already been told the local rollout will not proceed.
Reporting: 7NEWS
Background: The Guardian
Written by Pick & Scroll News from the reporting and documents linked above.
