Tesla Discounts Cybertruck As Demand for the EV Slows
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in 2023 that there were over a million preorders for the Cybertruck, and sales seemed brisk through most of 2024, with pent-up demand leading to wait times. Now, less than a year later, Tesla is chopping thousands of dollars off the sticker price for the electric pickup in an apparent response to weakening sales, as a lot of the heat around the truck has cooled off.
The EV maker is offering discounts of up to $2,630 for demo versions of the Cybertruck and $1,600 for new models, according to Automotive News. The Cybertruck starts at $82,235 according to Tesla’s website, including shipping, with the upgraded Cyberbeast starting at $102,235. According to industry analysts, Tesla sold around 39,000 Cybertrucks in 2024, which is not a small number for an EV but far short of Tesla’s ambitions.
An analyst even went so far as to call the Cybertruck a “flop.”
“I think the Cybertruck can be officially considered a flop now,” Karl Brauer, an analyst at iSeeCars told Automotive News. “Remember, this was going to be Tesla’s F-150.”
“Tesla’s F-150” did, in fact, beat the actual F-150 in terms of sales, at least with the all-electric F-150 Lightning, which had sales of 33,510 last year, according to Cox Automotive. Both the F-150 Lightning and the Cybertruck have suffered from a general decline in enthusiasm for EVs in the U.S. But, in total, Ford sold 834,641 F-Series trucks last year, a segment of vehicle—full-size trucks—that the Detroit automaker has dominated for almost a half-century.
That is the real number to beat, in the opinion of many traditional industry watchers. Still, there is room for growth, with a $60,000 Cybertruck on the way, which might goose volume, even if it’s unlikely the F-Series will take much notice.
