Tesla will retire the Cybertruck in 2027 to make room for Cybercab robotaxis

Elon Musk says Tesla will wind down Cybertruck production at its Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, around the middle of 2027, with the freed-up space going toward building more Cybercab robotaxis. Musk announced the decision in a post on X on Friday, saying the change is meant to free capacity for higher Cybercab output, according to The Verge. TechCrunch reports that the space will be used for the two-seat autonomous Cybercab.

A short run for a high-profile vehicle

The Cybertruck will have been on the market for only a few years by the time it retires. Tesla unveiled the stainless-steel pickup in 2019 and delivered the first customer trucks in late 2023, after a two-year delay that TechCrunch reports was partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Musk once predicted annual sales of about 250,000 units. Instead, TechCrunch says Tesla has sold just tens of thousands in total over three years, while The Verge notes that even the highest analyst estimates put cumulative deliveries at roughly 70,000 since launch.

The vehicle also fell well short of its original specifications. At the 2019 reveal event, best remembered for designer Franz von Holzhausen cracking the truck's windows with steel balls, Tesla said it would start under $40,000 and offer up to 500 miles of range. According to TechCrunch, neither figure was reached: the base version arrived at around $60,000, and the longest-range version came in more than 100 miles below the promise.

Capacity shifts to robotaxis

The Austin plant is the only known Tesla facility that assembles the Cybertruck and the only one equipped to make its specialized components, according to The Verge. Musk has not said whether production could move elsewhere, and The Verge notes that relocating it would be difficult, especially for a model that never sold well.

The freed capacity will support Tesla's robotaxi push. Cybercabs have been operating on Austin streets for roughly the past two months with no major incidents reported, and TechCrunch says Tesla plans to expand the service to Dallas later this month. The company also runs Model Y-based robotaxis in Austin, Houston, Dallas and three cities in Florida.

The Cybertruck is the third Tesla product discontinued to fuel these ambitions. Earlier this year, according to TechCrunch, Tesla ended production of the Model S sedan and Model X SUV and redirected that factory space toward its Optimus humanoid robot.

A troubled history

The Verge points to the truck's long list of controversies in a short lifespan: a polarizing design that is not road legal in many parts of the world, multiple recalls for faulty or dangerous components, and involvement in fatal accidents. TechCrunch adds that the vehicle became a target for protesters after Musk became a major financial backer of Donald Trump during the 2024 election cycle and later led the Department of Government Efficiency, which cut thousands of federal jobs in 2025.

Why it matters

The Cybertruck was once treated as central to Tesla's future. Before construction of the Texas plant began, TechCrunch notes, the company even discussed the facility in terms of the truck itself. Retiring it roughly three years after launch, alongside the Model S and Model X, signals how completely Tesla's priorities have shifted toward AI and robotics. The company is now willing to cancel even its most high-profile, Musk-favored products when they underperform, betting that autonomous vehicles and robots, rather than headline EVs, will define its next decade.