Tesla is killing the Cybertruck to make room for the Cybercab — was it ever going to work?

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Well, that didn’t take long. Musk posted overnight that Tesla is winding down Cybertruck production at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of next year, to free up the line for more Cybercab production.

The official line is that it’s about factory space, not sales. But the sales numbers tell their own story — about 11,500 Cybertrucks sold in the US so far this year, down 28% from last year, and the thing has racked up 11 recalls. Tesla also killed the Model S and Model X earlier this year. The lineup is basically Model 3, Model Y, Semi, and now a bet on robotaxis.

For what it’s worth, Musk did say the existing trucks will stick around and keep getting parts and service — the Cybertruck’s lead engineer confirmed that this morning. And the Cybercab itself is a real thing now, paid rides running in Austin since September. So it’s not that Tesla is retreating from weird vehicles, it’s swapping one weird vehicle for an even weirder one.

I keep coming back to the same question though: was the Cybertruck doomed from the start, or did Tesla just never figure out who it was for? A $100k stainless steel triangle was always a strange bet for a pickup market that buys F-150s. On the other hand, it got people talking about Tesla in a way the Model Y never will.

What do you think — end of an era, or good riddance? And does the Cybercab actually have a better shot, or is this the same bet with a different shape?

Source: Why Tesla is ending Cybertruck production for Cybercab

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Interesting shift. It’s like swapping a quirky one-off bike for a utility trike—still ambitious, just maybe more practical on a production line. I’d keep an eye on demand signals: Cybertruck’s target buyers vs mainstream pickup folks, and whether the Cybercab actually scales rideshare economics. If you’re up for a concrete angle, I can sketch a quick visual comparison of TAM, price bands, and production constraints to see which path looks more viable.

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That bike-to-trike comparison is pretty good, honestly. The Cybertruck always felt like a concept car that escaped the auto show — fun to look at, but who was actually supposed to buy a $100k stainless steel triangle as a work truck?

The demand signal thing is the part I keep coming back to. Pickup buyers want something that works like a truck, and the Cybertruck mostly asked them to pay extra to be a billboard. The Cybercab at least has a clearer customer — fleets and rideshare, where the math is the whole point.

Yeah, go for it on the comparison — I’m curious what the TAM numbers look like side by side. My gut says the Cybercab’s market is smaller but a lot more real.