Musk Says Tesla Will End Texas Cybertruck Output Next Year for Cybercab

Tesla plans to wind down Cybertruck production at its Texas gigafactory around the middle of next year, CEO Elon Musk said in a post on X on Friday. The goal is to free up space to build more of the Cybercab, the company's driverless vehicle.

Musk did not say whether Cybertruck production would move to another facility or end altogether, according to Reuters. The announcement comes as Tesla's shares and Musk's personal wealth have taken a hit this week.

What exactly did Musk announce?

Musk said Tesla will gradually stop making the Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas around mid-next year, BigGo Finance reported. The reason he gave was to make room to expand Cybercab output. Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Why is the Cybertruck being pushed aside?

Musk billed the angular pickup as a futuristic rival to trucks from established automakers such as Ford. But Reuters reported that it has struggled to sustain interest since its 2023 launch. The vehicle has also faced multiple recalls and quality-control problems, and Tesla has repeatedly revised its prices, according to both Reuters and BigGo Finance.

What is the Cybercab, and when could customers get one?

Musk has made the Cybercab central to Tesla's robotaxi ambitions. Over time, Tesla intends it to be the main driverless model in its larger robotaxi network, Reuters reported.

After the company's third-quarter results, Lars Moravy, Tesla's vice president of vehicle engineering, told analysts that Tesla is working to deliver the Cybercab to customers by the end of 2026. He said volumes would start small, letting the company gain self-driving experience through deliveries, customer use and fleet management before scaling up, according to BigGo Finance.

BigGo also reported that the timeline faces regulatory hurdles. U.S. regulators are conducting a safety investigation into the vehicle's lack of traditional manual controls, which leaves the timing of mass production and deliveries uncertain.

How are Tesla's shares and Musk's wealth doing?

BigGo Finance, citing reports, said shares of Tesla and SpaceX fell 11% and 9%, respectively, on Thursday. Their combined market value has dropped by more than $420 billion since Tuesday's close. The outlet attributed the slide mainly to investors weighing the risk that Congress could open investigations after the U.S. midterm elections, and that regulators could tighten scrutiny of Musk's businesses.

Musk's net worth briefly topped $1 trillion after SpaceX's initial public offering in June, according to the reports BigGo cited. It has since fallen below $800 billion, a drop of roughly $90 billion over the past week.

The outlet also noted that Tesla and SpaceX are expanding AI infrastructure in Texas. That includes a planned semiconductor and data-center complex called Terafab in Grimes County, and a supercomputer center at SpaceX's Starbase launch site. Deutsche Bank analysts wrote that policy direction was already hard to predict and that SpaceX may face more new headwinds in the current environment.

What does this mean for Tesla customers and investors?

For anyone who owns or is considering a Cybertruck, the main open question is the vehicle's future. Musk did not say whether production will continue elsewhere, and no details on the plan were disclosed. Tesla also has not commented publicly beyond his post.

For investors, BigGo Finance described the move as Tesla shifting resources from a pickup that has sold below expectations toward robotaxis, a field with potentially higher rewards but also higher regulatory risk. The outlet said the Cybercab's delivery schedule and the outcome of the safety investigation will be key indicators for Tesla's self-driving effort.

What happens next?

The wind-down is slated for around the middle of next year. Before that, Tesla says it is aiming to start Cybercab customer deliveries by the end of 2026 in small volumes, a goal that depends on how regulators handle the safety investigation.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by BigGo Finance, TimesLIVE