Elon Musk first created buzz in 2017 when he teased a picture of a pickup truck
that would eventually be known worldwide as the Cybertruck.
Musk promised that the truck's electric powertrain could generate enough towing capacity to
make the move heavy-duty Ford F-150 blush. The Cybertruck would be “a pickup truck that can
carry a pickup truck.”
But the most exciting promise made back then was the idea that this powerful behemoth would
be affordable, starting at $39,900.
Related: Tesla FSD faces more trouble as government opens investigation
A 2019 presentation during which Musk destroyed the supposedly indestructible window of a model
Cybertruck was an early bad omen for the next few years of the vehicle's development.
After a delayed 2021 release turned into a 2023 debut, and fans who remembered the promise
of the sub-$40,000 model were disappointed to find that the base model started at more than
$60,000.
The Cybertruck's odd, angular design made it a cultural phenomenon when it debuted, as the
vehicle had over a million reservations before it went on sale. Tesla lumps Cybertruck sales into
its other vehicles, so for a while, it was impossible to know exactly how many had been sold.
But recall data from earlier this year showed that the company had delivered on a little more
than 46,000 of those reservations during the first year or so of sales.
Tesla increases top-tier Cybertruck price point by $15,000
Tesla is jacking up the price of its most expensive Cybertruck models by $15,000 in the U.S.
The top-tier Cyberbeast variant now costs $114,990 and comes with a new Luxe Package that
includes Supervised Full Self-Driving and free access to its Supercharger battery network.
Companies don’t usually raise prices on a product they're struggling to move, but Tesla seems to
be betting that higher-income consumers won't balk at the new price.
Related: Tesla is set to deliver dismal sales, but here's why investors don't care
Tesla has been offering steep discounts of around $10,000 on some Cybertruck units in
inventory, Reuters reported.
At the beginning of the year, reports emerged that Tesla was scaling down production of the Cybertruck. In a leaked memo, Tesla notified workers that production workers on the Cybertruck assembly line at its Austin Gigafactory would be switching over to Model Y production.
Cox Automotive estimates sales of about 52,000 Cybertrucks since deliveries began in November 2023.
However, the Cybertruck still has numerous fans on social media who would love to own one if they could afford it. This week, that goal got a little bit more distant.
Tesla has a lot more Cybertrucks than it knows what to do with
Earlier this year, Electrek reported that Tesla was no longer accepting Cybertruck vehicle trade-ins. The company was sitting on about $200 million in Cybertruck inventory as of April, according to the report, with prices falling 55% year over year.
However, according to a new Electrek report, Tesla has reversed that policy.
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Tesla has started taking Foundation Series Cybertruck trade-ins, and the offered prices seem to confirm the depreciation reported last month.
Tesla was selling brand-new 2024 Cybertruck AWD Foundation Series for about $100,000 last year. A person with 6,000 miles on the odometer was offered $65,400 for that same vehicle, representing a 34.6% depreciation in less than a year.
According to Kelley Blue Book, pickup trucks generally lose about 20% of their value in the first year of ownership, with the rate slowing down to 8% to 12% a year after that.
Today, used 2024 Cybertrucks on Auto Trader are selling for between $70,000 for the base AWD model
and $95,000 for the Cyberbeast.
Related: Tesla makes a decision on Cybertrucks that owners will love
