Consumer demand for EVs is slowing down across the United States. But industry leader Tesla is counting on a special category of buyers to sustain sales for its Cybertruck model: Elon Musk superfans.
Musk first unveiled the Cybertruck back in 2019, but the production timeline has been lethargic ever since. The first vehicles were delivered last fall, two years behind schedule. Barron’s reported in January that over 2 million people are on the waiting list; new orders are currently being scheduled for 2027.
But Tesla recently announced a new program that lets would-be buyers skip the line to get their hands on a new Cybertruck—but only if they already have $40,000 worth of Tesla stock.
Under the program, dubbed the Early Cybertruck Delivery for Long-Term TSLA Shareholders, anyone who held at least 500 shares of Tesla stock two years ago—and still owns at least half that amount today—is eligible to get early delivery of a Cybertruck.
The cutoffs for this program mean it will only be available to hard-core Tesla stakeholders—two years ago, 500 Tesla shares were worth over $112,000. Even if they sold half of their stake, Tesla fans still have to have at least $40,000 worth of shares to be eligible for the early delivery program. (The early Foundation series of the Cybertruck, the only model that’s currently available, retails for around just $80,000.)
Tesla required wait-listed buyers to put down a $1,000 refundable deposit to keep their place in line last December. (The deposit goes towards the eventual cost, but if buyers change their mind and decide they don’t want a Cybertruck, they lose the money.) Tesla fans have ponied up, but they still don’t know when to expect their vehicles—the standard, rear-wheel-drive version won’t be available until 2025, according to Tesla.
Tesla, which has long led the U.S. in EV sales, has been struggling to maintain its electric growth rate. The American market has few options below the $50,000 mark, and Tesla has long been trying to rush a cheaper model to market. Evercore analysts who visited the company’s Texas factory just issued a note forecasting that model wouldn’t hit roads in force until at least 2027, though.
Tesla delivered a record number of vehicles last year, but declining sales in the Chinese market and a series of disappointing earnings have painted a cloudier picture for the market leader. (A Wells Fargo analyst downgraded its stock Wednesday, calling Tesla a “growth company with no growth.”) But one thing Tesla does have going for it is an army of Elon superfans—and, at least for the Cybertruck, that should be enough to boost sales for years to come.