- Tesla is scaling down its Cybertruck production goals and transferring some workers to other production lines, Business Insider reported. Cybertruck sales have slumped amid a slew of recalls and investor concerns over the future of the EV-maker. Tesla has recently incentivized Cybertruck purchases with perks and a cheaper model.
Tesla is reportedly shrinking its Cybertruck production goals amid struggles to sell the model.
The EV-maker has lowered its production targets in the past few months, Business Insider reported, citing two anonymous employees. Tesla has also thinned out some Cybertruck production lines—some teams by more than half—according to four workers who spoke on the condition of anonymity with the publication. Some Cybertruck factory workers at the company’s Texas Gigafactory have reportedly been transferred to the Model Y line as of January.
“It feels a lot like they’re filtering people out,” one employee told BI. “The parking lot keeps getting emptier.”
Tesla reportedly began the move in December, surveying employees on their preferred work assignments and reassigning some to Model Y production.
Cybertruck sales dwindled in the first three months of 2025, falling to 6,406 units sold compared to 12,991 units the quarter before, according to Cox Automotive data. Tesla has sold just over 46,000 Cybertrucks since the model began production in late 2023. The challenges are part of the company’s larger concern over sales, which have declined 13% in the first quarter of 2025.
Tesla did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
The company has struggled to deliver a strong performance since CEO Elon Musk began his role within President Donald Trump’s administration. Some analysts say they believe Musk’s responsibilities within the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has distracted the CEO from Tesla, dragging down investor confidence and—on top of sagging sales—contributed to Tesla’s 43% stock drop since Trump’s inauguration. Tesla share prices are still up 54% over the past 12 months.
Last month, Tesla reportedly halted deliveries of Cybertruck over concerns from owners the cars’ side paneling was falling off. Days later, Tesla recalled every Cybertruck ever sold because of the siding issue, one of eight recalls in about 15 months of production. In February, the company recalled an additional 375,000 vehicles because of a steering issue.
Tesla’s sweetened Cybertruck deals
Still, Musk has remained optimistic about Tesla’s future, pledging last month to double car production in the U.S. during the next two years.
Amid its sales slump, Tesla has attempted to incentivize new Cybertruck purchases by offering a lifetime of free charging for customers who buy a new Foundation Series Cybertruck—but that model comes with a $95,000 price tag. The savings is about $50 per charge, though the deal only applies to that particular vehicle owner, and is not applicable to ride-share drivers.
Last week, Tesla unveiled a cheaper version of its Cybertruck, costing about $70,000. While the tweaked model shaves off about $10,000 off the price tag, it switches the vehicle from all-wheel to rear-wheel drive and eliminates features like air suspension and vegan leather seats.
Some investors aren’t convinced the tweaked model offers enough pazzazz to jumpstart sales. Gary Black, a Tesla investor and managing partner of the Future Fund, estimated Tesla would deliver just 20,000 Cybertruck units in fiscal 2025, compared to 37,000 in fiscal 2024.
“Given just a $10K price discount vs the CT AWD [all-wheel drive] version and the removal of many CT AWD features, we expect little if any incremental volume will be added to WS Tesla delivery estimates as a result of the CT RWD [rear-wheel drive] addition,” Black wrote on social media.
