Tesla Cybertruck appears to be facing significant sales challenges. After initial hype faded, and over a million reservations turned out to be as real as unicorns, Tesla is now enabling leasing options and free upgrades to move its inventory of the futuristic pickup truck. The company’s recent silence on the Cybertruck, even omitting it from their earnings call, speaks volumes about the situation.

Tesla initially projected sales of 500,000 Cybertrucks annually and established production capacity at the Giga Texas for 250,000 units per year. After working through the initial reservation backlog with fewer than 40,000 deliveries, the automaker is now struggling to sell the remaining vehicles.

  • Brkdncr@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    This should surprise no one. The reception was poor, delivery was poor. It’s a niche market item in an existing niche market. On top of that, the de facto spokesperson of Tesla isn’t well liked by a lot of potential buyers.

    • Hildegarde@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      1 month ago

      “niche market,” is a way of saying they made a bad product few want.

      pickup trucks are hardly a niche product especially in the us

      • Hideakikarate@sh.itjust.works
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        1 month ago

        I don’t think I’d call that thing a pickup. I’m not gonna run to the farm and pick up a 1000lb bale of hay in that thing. A Baja looks like it has more bed space.

      • Nollij@sopuli.xyz
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        1 month ago

        It makes more sense if you start from the other side - EVs are a niche market, and an electric truck is a small subset of that.

        The Cybertruck sold 38,965 units last year, vs 33,510 for the Ford F150 Lightning.

        • faltryka@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          One of the things I love about my Lightning is that it doesn’t look like a fucking cybertruck

        • snooggums@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          They shipped 39k cybertrucks for backlogged preorders that were based on a completely different description of what the truck would be.

        • Damage@feddit.it
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          1 month ago

          Which is mind boggling, as the Lightning seems like a good, attractive vehicle, while the cybertruck seems like a pile of shit

          • Nollij@sopuli.xyz
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            1 month ago

            I have no need for a truck, and I still considered getting one. The Lightning is very impressive all around.

          • hovercat@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            1 month ago

            The Lightning has also been out for a few years now, so it’s not the “new” thing. Also, I feel like half of those cYbErTrUcK purchases were people trying to resell them.

            • TehWorld@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              Hopefully these people get double-fucked. Moreso because they bought a swasticar from President Musk, but also because fuckyou to people who buy stuff just to resell at a higher margin.

          • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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            1 month ago

            Actually most vehicles are only 1-wheel drive unless they have a locker or similar installed (4x4 would be “2-wheel drive”).

          • catloaf@lemm.ee
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            1 month ago

            Which vehicles have that? The base cybertruck has two motors for AWD.

            • varyingExpertise@feddit.org
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              1 month ago

              It’s just to make OP feel smart. A single driven axle with an open differential with one wheel on more slippery ground than the other would result in only one wheel transferring torque.

              • catloaf@lemm.ee
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                1 month ago

                Can you explain? I’m not much into cars, but that doesn’t sound right to me. A quick Google suggests maybe you’re referring to the open differential, but I don’t think that means that only one wheel is powered.

                • etchinghillside@reddthat.com
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                  1 month ago

                  They’re referring to an open differential. If you look at an open differential vehicle doing a burnout you will see that only one wheel is spinning.

            • Sanctus@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              You gotta love these comments in forums. Like the whole point of being here is to discuss and people like this are literally telling you to leave the site. Very useful, much contributions.

      • "no" banana@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        To be fair, it’s valid to cater to niche markets.

        However, that wasn’t what Tesla was aiming to do.

        • kreskin@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          cybertruck is barely even a truck at all. its a truck shaped car for rich assholes to look rugged.

            • pelespirit@sh.itjust.works
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              1 month ago

              They’re a comedy show on wheels. They always lighten my mood when I see them. I’m a little smug too, knowing if I had that much money to blow, it wouldn’t be on one of those.

    • ramble81@lemm.ee
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      1 month ago

      Just wait till DOGE start requiring it for all government vehicles

      • andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works
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        1 month ago

        I’d like a GTA singleplayer cheat making every police car a cybertruck that can’t pursue you for long and would rather lose control and do a barrel roll than even get close to you.

    • corroded@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      “Isn’t well liked” is quite the understatement. “Despised” is more like it. I actually like the way the cybertruck looks, I think the technology is interesting, and if I really wanted to, I could probably afford one.

      I wouldn’t drive one if it was given to me for free. I’d rather take a taxi every day than drive a public display of support for the treasonous fascist manchild that owns the company.

      Tesla’s second biggest problem is their shit standards and quality control. Their first biggest problem is their shit corporate leadership.

      • Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works
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        1 month ago

        I swear that every time I saw one, the people around would point and laugh. 100k+ to drive a car that is always broken and mocked by everyone is quite expensive.

    • TheFogan@programming.dev
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      1 month ago

      I mean off the bat that’s one of the worse combinations of people/product I’ve ever seen. I mean off the bat electric car’s target market is people that want to think they are doing something better for the environment.

      So… then the guy making them goes loudly in the “fuck the environment” group.

      To top it off though, Cybertruck itself always confuses me. I don’t know who the target audience is. The original tesla’s I could look at and think, that’s a cool car, if they ever came down in price I’d be interested.

      Cybertruck you look at and think… What a car would look like if you scaled up games from the 32/64 bit console era and made them HD without increasing the polygon count.

      • aramis87@fedia.io
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        1 month ago

        My problem with Tesla is that so many things seem half-unthinking, half-finished or half-assed:

        Unthinking: I know! I’ll put a ledge in from of the headlights, so snow can pile up while I’m driving!

        Unfinished: all the seam mismatches and eternally unfinished-but-really-close! full self-driving (it ain’t gonna happen).

        Half-assed: that recall they had to do because sometimes the latch doesn’t catch properly and the hood flies open when you’re driving and blocks your view. Tesla’s solution isn’t to fix or replace the hood latch so this doesn’t happen; they push a software up that monitors the hood latch and pops up a warning, telling you to pull over and check the hood latch. Because apparently fixing the issue that their poor design (see #1) and bad implementation (see #2) doesn’t warrant an actual fix, they’re just going to fob the risk , the cost and the work off to the customer.

        • Kichae@lemmy.ca
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          1 month ago

          I like the theory that Tesla had a long term roadmap before Elon scooped it up, and that he wasn’t able to do too much to disrupt that in the early years because he was focused on LARPing as Tony Stark on the Internet, and the team that developed around him to insulate the company from him were reasonably good at their jobs. But even the best can only hold back so few bad ideas while keeping up the illusion, and the result has been gradually diminishing amount of ass.

          Until that roadmap ran out, and/or Elon stopped being distracted, resulting in them designing and building the Elon.

      • thanksforallthefish@literature.cafe
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        1 month ago

        The target audience is monied tech bro millenials who really wanted a warthog out of Halo.

        The problem is that the overlap between tech bros and nazi lovers is definitely not 100%, probably not even 10%.

        • mosiacmango@lemm.ee
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          1 month ago

          The problem is that the overlap between tech bros and nazi lovers is definitely not 100%, probably not even 10%.

          Dont be so sure about that ratio. Plently of “got mine, im all bootstraps” tech bros. Id put the number at about 70/30% against nazis, but no better.

        • catloaf@lemm.ee
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          1 month ago

          If they wanted a Warthog, they should have gotten a Jeep.

          Or built one. There are at least three fully functioning Warthogs out there, I think. I’ve seen the one at Weta.

      • moleverine@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        We’re not all buying EVs for the environment. I bought an EV because I think the car is cool and it’s really enjoyable to drive. It’s nice that the “gas” is also significantly cheaper, but that wasn’t high on my list of reasons to get the thing, either.

        The EV owners I’ve talked to didn’t buy them for the environment, either, but I haven’t talked to any Leaf owners or anything. Maybe they’re more environmentally conscious. It being better for the environment long term is definitely nice, and I hope progress continues on batteries made with less toxic components.

        Thankfully, I did not buy a Tesla and they were never on my list of options because of Elon. So he definitely alienated a customer due to him being an awful human being. I also won’t use any of their charging stations, since I don’t want them to profit off of me.

        • proudblond@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          You could say we bought our Teslas “for the environment” in a way, though a bit roundabout. When we bought them (2018), it was after having previously leasing a Leaf which had shit mileage and poor performance over 40mph. We wanted to signal to the industry with our dollars that we wanted the EV movement to succeed. Because apparently money is the only thing they listen to. We knew full well that EVs were only a step toward a greener future or whatever but we wanted the industry to take that step and understand that being environmentally friendlier was important.

    • snooggums@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Plus the initial sales were to people who had already committed to preorders at a lower price for a truck that was hyped up to be far better than the end result.

      Cybertrucks are basically No Man’s Sky but without the possibility of being good in a half decade.

      • Optional@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Cybertrucks are basically No Man’s Sky but without the possibility of being good in a half decade.

        Dag, yo. 🔥

    • scarabic@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      It is jaw dropping that only 40,000 of their one million+ reservations actually turned into sales. Thats 4% conversion!

      Also, trucks are not a niche market. And there is pretty minimal overlap between the kind of douche who wants one of these and people who object to Musk’s behavior. It’s designed for his cult, especially.

  • floofloof@lemmy.ca
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    1 month ago

    The best thing they could do for their sales is get rid of all ties to Elon Musk.

      • snooggums@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Also have anyone who understands basic car design point out why shit like door opening buttons are a terrible idea in emergencies. Or why requiring the doors to lock during a software update is stupid. Or why putting electronics not designed for extreme heat is terrible. Or that trying to use cameras in bad weather isn’t any better than human eyes…

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          1 month ago

          It’s all 5d chess technology that us plebs would never understand, what with our preference for simple, maintainable shit.

        • floofloof@lemmy.ca
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          1 month ago

          I’m sure people pointed out all of those things and were overruled by the Nazi manchild in charge.

      • ms.lane@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Or even better, get Olivier Boulet (of Mitsubishi infamy) to do their future designs so we can put the company out of its misery.

    • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      I definitely would’ve considered Tesla as my first EV but as of now they’re dead to me. If he was completely gone then that actually becomes a selling point for me.

    • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
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      1 month ago

      As the article title states, unlike Elon Musk, Tesla pulls out.

    • CosmoNova@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      While true this still won’t make the Cyberdrumpf meet EU regulations. You can’t make it street legal here.

    • scarabic@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      They’ve gone a long way on flash and sex appeal but I think a little straightforward practical value would help them a lot. The market is awash in good competition now so their novelty effect is gone. And the sex appeal has ended for everyone except for 40k cyberdouches.

  • Neineon77@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 month ago

    I remember posting about how a guy with a cybertruck would be an immediate no go for me and I was told by a guy I was being too judgy lol

  • notfromhere@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    All they had to do was build a solid, reliable truck, and not be fascist. Instead they build a poorly glued together piece of shit and sieg heil. I fucking hate this timeline.

  • GnuLinuxDude@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    I’m betting high odds he will force the federal government to buy them under the guise of a green EV transition. With trump’s full blessing, of course.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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        Wow, it’s beautiful and so futuristic! It’s almost like living in the future today. I bet Tesla could sell twice as many as the Cybertrucks of those. Provided he makes it bulletproof of course. The great weakness and the reason for the disappointing sales of the Cybertruck is that the glass isn’t bulletproof, I simply can’t think of any other reason.

            • werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              Imagining my new all electric commuting box with a high fidelity decal of Linus Trovalds giving the guy in the back a double fisted middle finger!

              With speed lines and fire ball theme. The reverse sound alarm is the same thing they use in kei trucks…cute Japanese voice model saying excuse me I’m backing up! For lights, we would want fog lights along with a fog horn, we would want 300w for normal driving, 5000w for blinding incoming traffic and flash bulbs in case anyone wants to follow me too closely. A green laser for traffic cameras, and an LED screen so I can tell the guy behind me things I did with his mother. " We went shopping together yesterday… At Victoria’s secret!"…and that’s the design and how I would end a conversation regarding Tesla trucks.

    • jonne@infosec.pub
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      1 month ago

      I guess if Hitler was allowed to design a car, Musk didn’t want to be left behind.

  • Toribor@corndog.social
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    1 month ago

    So… how long before the federal government buys up a couple million of these things…?

  • Glytch@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    I wish journalist would stop calling this PS 1 Pontiac Aztek “futuristic”; it just highlights how shitty our future is going to be.

  • shikitohno@lemm.ee
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    1 month ago

    Have they tried pulling out the “Make a vehicle that’s not a massive and shitty death trap,” or “Boot the Nazi from the company” stops? Because, I suspect doing those two might help it out.

    • MutilationWave@lemmy.world
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      The myth of Elon is still going strong. Now he’s taking over government agencies. Not that it’s the right move, but keeping him on might keep the stock at the insanely overvalued level it’s at. That’s all that matters.

    • scarabic@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Elon is all this company has, just like Trump is literally the only thing going on in the Republican Party. The republicans are going all the way with Trump, straight down the drain, and Tesla will do the same with Musk.

  • RangerJosey@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    No thank you. I don’t want a swasticar.

    I’d love to have one of those new production old style beetles. But we can’t buy them here because our govt sucks donkey dick.

    • Benaaasaaas@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      You mean this style of beetle? Nazi Germany unveiling of the new beetle 1930s

      I’m not defending cybertruck just wanted to point out the awkward history of WV

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        The massive, massive difference is that the VW Beetle wasn’t a shitbox for rich people. It’s okay to say that once in a great while. the Nazis, despite being horrific in most ways, did have an idea that wasn’t bad and this was that. The VW Beetle was an affordable car and if something went wrong with it, you could probably fix it yourself with only a small amount of automotive knowledge. You really don’t even need to give Hitler credit for that considering he basically just told Ferdinand Porsche to do all the hard work.

        Not so much the Cybertruck. It was Elon’s baby from the beginning and he took a very close personal interest in it.

        The Cybertruck is a bad idea. Even for rich people. It’s been demonstrated over and over again.

        • barsoap@lemm.ee
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          Importantly, the success of the Beetle came after the Nazis. They built the factory using confiscated union funds as well as having people pay instalments for cars which they would never get, built two or three Beetles, then switched production over to war-time production, Kübelwagen. After the war the unions effectively took over the whole plant… and also bought a couple of farms to make sure workers and families had enough to eat. Most of that is gone now but they still have their own butchery, VW part number 199 398 500 A is a saussage.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            Except the Homer Car actually worked properly. It just looked stupid and had stupid “features” no one wanted but Homer.

            The Cybertruck isn’t even that good.

        • Jericho_Kane@lemmy.org
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          But they also scammed people into spending money on a Volkswagen that they never delivered and took the money to support the war effort.

    • Petter1@lemm.ee
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      VW cars are built by Uyghurs, which, last I checked, are a surpassed minority in China, that has to work under slave-like conditions.

      But I guess most cars are produced like this.