Tesla's Cybertruck sales underwhelmed in the first year. I ended up buying a Model 3.
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- Tesla sold 38,965 Cybertrucks in 2024, according to Cox Automotive estimates.
- The Cybertruck's high price and slowing demand contributed to underwhelming sales figures.
- Despite challenges, the Cybertruck was the top-selling electric pickup, surpassing the Ford F-150 Lightning.
I once had a reservation to buy a Tesla Cybertruck. I canceled it last year and ended up buying a Model 3.
It was December and Tesla was offering juicy year-end incentives that won me over. I picked up the car at a Tesla dealership south of Silicon Valley.
Before driving off, I saw about 20 Cybertrucks lined up in the parking lot. I asked a Tesla employee about these vehicles and he said roughly half of them were spoken for. So about 10 were unsold with three weeks left of the year.
Sales numbers
I don't know what happened to those specific Cybertrucks, but overall sales of Elon Musk's angular, divisive electric pickups underwhelmed in 2024.
Cox Automotive recently released EV sales numbers for the US market. This firm estimates that Tesla sold 38,965 Cybertrucks last year.
In late 2023, I collated some Wall Street forecasts for Cybertruck sales and found that Tesla was expected to sell about 48,500 units in 2024. That was the average of estimates from analysts at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Bernstein, and Wedbush.
So, Tesla missed by almost 10,000 units. I asked Cox about this and Stephanie Valdez Streaty, the firm's director of industry insights, got back to me.
"Demand for the Cybertruck showed signs of slowing down towards the end of the year and was lower than many Tesla enthusiasts and boosters might have expected," she said.
Cox also adjusted its third-quarter Cybertruck sales number to be lower than initial estimates.
"The Cybertruck's current price point — more than $100,000 according to Kelley Blue Book estimates — will make it difficult to achieve the volume sales that were promised prior to launch," she added. Similar electric trucks from Ford and Rivian cost quite a bit less.
A little context
The Cybertruck is unique and has some groundbreaking technology. Some people love the design.
It ended up being the fifth best-selling EV in the US last year, according to Cox. It beat the Ford F-150 Lightning, making the Cybertruck the top electric pickup in terms of sales.
The top EV was the Model Y, followed by the Model 3. Together, those vehicles accounted for more than 600,000 sales in 2024.
So, the Cybertruck it has not been a massive flop, but it hasn't been a runaway hit either.
The outlook
More than 1 million people put $100 down to reserve a Cybertruck after it was first announced in late 2019.
It's unclear how many people canceled their reservations, like me.
"The electric pickup truck market is becoming increasingly competitive, with new models from established automakers," Valdez Streaty said. "This heightened competition will continue to challenge the Cybertruck's market share."
"We are likely through many of the early Tesla Cybertruck adopters. Initial demand was driven by enthusiasts and early adopters," she added. "The focus now is on appealing to a broader market to sustain sales momentum."