The Tesla Cybertruck is not selling in the numbers that CEO Elon Musk predicted, and with inventory piling up, the company is implementing numerous tactics to get the divisive electric pick-up truck in the hands of customers.
According to various reports, Tesla is offering up to $11,900 off the asking price of many Cybertruck models in the USA, while potential Canadian buyers are also being enticed with up to CAD $16,590 off.
Beyond the discount, many of these deals also include additional sweeteners, including free lifetime charging via the marque’s Supercharger network and lifetime access to (Supervised) Full Self-Driving technology, which typically requires a monthly subscription fee.
When the Cybertruck was launched in 2023, Elon Musk emphatically announced that the vehicle would sell in excess of 250,000 units a year, but that figure is looking more like 25,000 units.
Forbes famously called the model “the auto industry’s biggest flop in decades”, citing similar sales failures, such as the Ford Edsel and butt-ugly Pontiac Aztek made famous by Breaking Bad, as faring better than the steel-paneled Cybertruck.
Despite launching a new, more affordable Cybertruck model last week, Tesla is now slowing down production of the model at its Gigafactory in Texas to prevent stockpiling further, according to a report by Business Insider.
Cybertruck suffers the DeLorean curse
Just like the gull-winged DMC sports car from Back to the Future, Cybertruck had its moment in the spotlight and is now facing a massive downturn in demand.
Despite being separated by almost 50 years, the DeLorean and Cybertruck stories are eerily similar, with outlandish styling initially grabbing the public’s attention, but reports of poor build quality and the ensuing public controversy surrounding the owner effectively killed both projects.
The bottom line is that Cybertruck has come to represent everything that a large swath of the American public is currently railing against. As a result, it has been the focal point of aggression, vandalism, and ridicule.
We have reported on a general cooling of demand for most Tesla products, with close competitors keen to swoop in and make conquest sales.
But this is a particularly thorny issue for Cybertruck, and it feels like no matter how much Musk chooses to incentivize it, the divisive pick-up’s days might be numbered.
