To say the Tesla Cybertruck is polarizing would be an understatement. Introduced in 2024 to great fanfare, the wedge-shaped stainless steel full-electric pickup has nowhere near met the company’s lofty expectations. Despite claims that nearly 2 million preorder reservations were made, a recent recall notice for all models on the road revealed the EV maker has thus far sold just 46,000 Cybertrucks.
Tesla is reportedly sitting on $200 million worth of the revolutionary EVs that can’t seem to find buyers for reasons that include being involved in multiple recalls, with the latest involving body panels randomly falling off the vehicle. And then there’s the growing Tesla backlash regarding CEO Elon Musk’s role as the outspoken kingpin in President Trump’s federal department, program and job-slashing DOGE initiative.
Sales have slowed to the point where multiple sources report Tesla dealers have stopped taking used Cybertrucks in trade or buying them outright because they can’t sell the new models that are gathering dust – and accruing financing interest – on their lots. Other-brand dealers are said to be equally hesitant about taking them in trade and where they are willing they’re giving lowball offers to minimize any financial risk down the road. Some owners are reportedly pursuing Lemon Law protection to force Tesla to buy back the beleaguered trucks.
It should come as no surprise that, according to The Economic Times, Cybertruck transaction prices have plunged by 55% over the past year and 13% in the last three months alone. Listings on Carfax show dealers in the Chicago area are still mainly offering used models in the $80,000-$90,000 range, with a low of around $76,000 for a base model and $140,000 for a barely driven Cyberbeast version. Needless to say, out-the-door negotiated prices are likely to be much lower.
The Cybertruck has been embroiled in controversy since its unveiling in 2019. Things went badly literally from the beginning. It’s allegedly impenetrable window glass shattered in a failed demonstration of its break resistance. The futuristic-looking pickup was originally planned to go into production in late 2021 with a base price announced at $39,900, but it didn’t wind up going on sale until the 2024 model year, and with a starting sticker at a whopping $99,000 for a dual-motor all-wheel drive unit. Price cuts along the way have lowered the base price for an all-wheel drive model to a current $72,490, and the base Cybertruck is one of a relative handful of models that still qualifies for the one-time $7,500 federal tax credit.
In addition to the affordable rear-drive single motor entry-level version yet to materialize, it was recently noted that another Cybertruck promise is not coming to fruition. The range extender originally announced at the vehicle’s launch as a $16,000 option was purported to enable a 470-mile capacity, though that figure was later downgraded to 445 miles, and at that recently vanished from the vehicle’s online configurator.
Overall, Tesla sales dropped by around 8% over the first quarter of 2024, according to Cox Automotive, having peaked back in the first quarter of 2023, and that’s in the face of overall electric vehicle sales estimated to have jumped by 12% in year-over-year sales as of Q1 2025, General Motors’ EV sales alone have risen by 94% on the strength of its Chevrolet Equinox EV and Blazer EV models.
Part of Tesla’s dive can be attributed as much to an aging model line (a refreshed version of the top-selling Model Y is finally being released) as Musk’s own controversial persona. Protests and even vandalism at Tesla dealerships and Supercharger stations nationwide only serve to underscore the brand’s multiple woes. It probably doesn’t help that the bulk of early Tesla sales in the U.S. were to buyers living in blue states.
Critics suggest Musk is more involved in DOGE than his own auto company right now, and that he should either put aside his governmental affairs and go back to running the business full-time, or withdraw from Tesla altogether and let a more-dedicated CEO run the operation. That is, if the brand is not already broken beyond repair. Time, as they say, will tell.
