It may be the long-awaited event of death, but it certainly does not stop Elon Musk from striking one of Tesla’s most personal bets: his Cybertruck is slowly saying goodbye, and he has championed a technology where the tycoon hopes to be more successful: autonomous taxis.
Goodbye Cybertruck. A few hours ago, Tesla’s CEO announced on his extensive Twitter profile that production of the Cybertruck at the Gigafactory in Texas will be gradually reduced throughout 2027. Considering that this is the only one of its five mega plants where it is made, white and bottled. Of course, given Tesla Truck’s long list of disappointments, this was to be expected.
According to Musk, the move is intended to free up physical space and manufacturing capacity to increase production volume of CyberCab, its autonomous vehicle intended for robotaxis services.
Why is it important?. The company wanted the Cybertruck from the beginning to be much more than the best-selling car in the United States, aiming to turn it into something aspirational, an icon and symbol of the brand, which achieved another less impressive but more practical model on a global scale, the Model 3. There is no relief: it failed so much to sell that it failed to buy itself.
The move represents a radical shift when it comes to prioritizing its assets, shifting the focus from a consumer vehicle like the Cybertruck to a fully deployed segment, the autonomous transportation fleet.
This is not surprising. The first jug of cold water happened when it ceased to be a prototype and was put up for sale, much more expensive than expected and with less autonomy. However, it started out as the best-selling luxury car in the United States in 2024, but it was short-lived: sales dropped and then numerous recalls due to accelerator problems, tires not holding up, and even parts falling off while driving. The result? The unit is piled up and without any exit.
Hello Cybercab. But where a door closes, a window opens and Elon Musk gets a chance to make amends in a truly growing niche: autonomous taxis, which, out of nowhere, have landed in Madrid thanks to Waymo. The competition is fierce and Tesla’s roadmap is ambitious, to say the least: a robotaxi without pedals or a steering wheel and would theoretically cost less than $30,000.
In his presentation in 2024, the tycoon talked about new ways of doing business beyond selling cars and even set a price, 20 cents per mile, that is, two dollars for every 16 kilometers in his personal transportation service using these vehicles, which will be operated autonomously using cameras and artificial intelligence.
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