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.

594 points

Have they tried suing people who don’t want to buy one?

permalink
report
reply
251 points
229 points

I was referencing how Elon is suing companies for not wanting to advertise on X. But this is amazing, too.

permalink
report
parent
reply
59 points

Hmm, it’s kind of like he has an established MO for when his businesses are failing due to his own poor decisions and lack of business sense.

permalink
report
parent
reply
15 points

Hmm, it’s almost like he’s an entitled billionaire not comfortable living in the real world with people who actually have free will! I don’t care how many zeros, he’s a loser.

permalink
report
parent
reply
43 points

Probably an effort to prevent scalping. Oh, how optimistic they were…

permalink
report
parent
reply
31 points

Tesla may also refuse to sell you any future vehicles

Oh no 😥

permalink
report
parent
reply
32 points

You joke, but I wouldn’t be shocked if someone in particular gets that brainwave before too long

permalink
report
parent
reply
12 points

They should force the government use cybertrucks for employe transportation just like Elon did with X and NTSB

permalink
report
parent
reply
19 points

That might be the biggest harbinger of whether musk or Trump is running things. Trump has banned fed government from buying EV.

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points

So much of the promo for the Tim and Eric mandatory attendance world tour 2020 has come true it’s fucking insane, man

permalink
report
parent
reply
5 points
*

You mean These people

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Whoa, there was a lot of fElon fellatio in the replies on that site.

permalink
report
parent
reply
322 points

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.

permalink
report
reply
181 points

“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

permalink
report
parent
reply
116 points

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.

permalink
report
parent
reply
52 points

A bad pickup truck is still just a pickup truck.

permalink
report
parent
reply
42 points

Most pickup truck owners don’t do that either.

permalink
report
parent
reply
18 points

And more ground clearance

permalink
report
parent
reply
50 points

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.

permalink
report
parent
reply
133 points

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

permalink
report
parent
reply
27 points

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

permalink
report
parent
reply
11 points

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

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points

I’m assuming the electric f150 has greater than 1 wheel drive?

permalink
report
parent
reply
17 points

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

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

permalink
report
parent
reply
40 points

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

permalink
report
parent
reply
8 points

pickup trucks are hardly a niche product

Tanks camouflaged as pickup trucks are.

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

When did they start importing the Hilux?

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

And the cybertruck is hardly a pickup truck. What were you saying?

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points
Deleted by creator
permalink
report
parent
reply
68 points

Just wait till DOGE start requiring it for all government vehicles

permalink
report
parent
reply
32 points

“What?! You all wanted electric mail trucks, so here they are!”

(Sadly / Probably)

permalink
report
parent
reply
16 points

oh shit…

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

With all the trailer capacity available it will be able to carry one, maybe even TWO packages!

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

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.

permalink
report
parent
reply
36 points

“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.

permalink
report
parent
reply
11 points

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.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Hey! I heard you could get one of these fasc-mobiles for $75k, now!

/s

permalink
report
parent
reply
26 points

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.

permalink
report
parent
reply
26 points

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.

permalink
report
parent
reply
18 points

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.

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points

eternally unfinished-but-really-close! full self-driving

Promised by next year since 2013

permalink
report
parent
reply
14 points

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%.

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points

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.

permalink
report
parent
reply

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.

permalink
report
parent
reply
8 points

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.

permalink
report
parent
reply
5 points

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.

permalink
report
parent
reply
18 points

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.

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

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

Dag, yo. 🔥

permalink
report
parent
reply
12 points

Isn’t well liked…. Is a Nazi.

permalink
report
parent
reply
8 points

Let’s not forget the quality. Also poor.

permalink
report
parent
reply
7 points

Plus it looks stupid, like what my drawings of a car looked like at 5 years old

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

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.

permalink
report
parent
reply

Nazi truck.

permalink
report
reply
148 points

Apparently Elon hates it when you call them swasticars, so definitely do not do that.

permalink
report
parent
reply
11 points

*SwastiKKKar

permalink
report
parent
reply
8 points

I’m not sure why, but every time I see one I think of a giant tick that has guzzled way too much blood and is about to explode.

permalink
report
parent
reply
50 points

I can understand why Nazis like it, given the truck’s habit of trapping you inside as it engulfs you in flames.

permalink
report
parent
reply
16 points
Removed by mod
permalink
report
parent
reply
12 points

Every time a Tesla burns a devil gets it’s horns.

permalink
report
parent
reply
-4 points

Innocent people are being killed. Not really something to celebrate.

permalink
report
parent
reply
-5 points

“People deserve to die for buying the wrong car. I am the good guy in this scenario.”

permalink
report
parent
reply
32 points

Wankpanzer

permalink
report
parent
reply
10 points

Apartheidsemi

permalink
report
parent
reply
19 points

Fashcan?

permalink
report
parent
reply
143 points

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

permalink
report
reply
77 points
*

And get real professionals to design and build future models.

permalink
report
parent
reply
48 points
*

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…

permalink
report
parent
reply
10 points
*

Now, the origin of all those terrible ideas will be running the government.

permalink
report
parent
reply
8 points

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

permalink
report
parent
reply
8 points
*

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

permalink
report
parent
reply
5 points

Just ordinary professionals will do nicely.

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

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

permalink
report
parent
reply
15 points

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.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

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

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

Instead they did the opposite and gave him the biggest bonus in world history.

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

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

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

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.

permalink
report
parent
reply
137 points

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

permalink
report
reply
88 points

It’s a solid real world filter.

This is definitely more acceptable than “no social media” being a red flag. Got that one before lol

permalink
report
parent
reply
66 points

No social media is a green flag IMO.

permalink
report
parent
reply
20 points
*

You’re literally using social media right now.

Edit: Downvote me all you want, but the fact of the matter is that Lemmy is social media. There’s media on here, and we discuss it in a social setting. Literally the definition of “social media”.

permalink
report
parent
reply
10 points

I give the gift of a free bird to any I pass on the street.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

lol same

permalink
report
parent
reply
9 points

Are you Lynyrd Skynyrd?

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

Is no social media a red flag?

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points
*

I’ve heard it mentioned, but I assume the people who believe it are people who are on Instagram all day

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

To a lot of people yes, but I think they’re more worried there’s nothing that proves you’re a real person, if that makes sense.

I see it as a liability more than anything. Your data is forever.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Not really, but since we live in a world where most people are happily sharing their lives online it’s easy to imagine how not using social media might make people think you have something to hide and, therefore, can’t be trusted.

permalink
report
parent
reply
42 points

Imagine a cyber truck bro listening to Joe Rogan in that thing. How does that not make every woman in sight instantly aroused?? /s

permalink
report
parent
reply
21 points

My panties are soaked! I’m also a pudgy middle-age dude.

permalink
report
parent
reply
7 points

You can buy incontinence sheets at the pharmacy, y’know?

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points

:(

permalink
report
parent
reply
28 points

Being honest, if I heard about a woman that has cybertruck red flags (assuming you’re cis/het), that’s genuinely more attractive to me.

permalink
report
parent
reply
28 points

This is valid just on taste alone. The thing was ugly even before Elon started his descent into madness.

permalink
report
parent
reply
5 points

Rich enough to own a cyber truck, but not bright enough not to own a cyber truck. Yeah it’s what they “call look at me” energy.

Politics notwithstanding people like that are just tiring to be around.

permalink
report
parent
reply

Technology

!technology@lemmy.world

Create post

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots


Community stats

  • 18K

    Monthly active users

  • 14K

    Posts

  • 619K

    Comments