Tesla confirmed that Cybertruck sales are a disaster in the release of its quarterly results. Sales of the controversial electric pickup truck have stalled for a year on the production ramp.
Considering that Tesla started production more than a year ago, it's still early in the Cybertruck program. Some say it is too early to tell if it will be successful, but there is something to worry about that it is not and will not be.
Tesla said they had over 1 million reservations for the truck, but we always questioned their commitment to purchase because Tesla lowered the reservation deposit to just $100 for the new model.
In addition, the production version of the truck was more expensive and had a smaller range than Tesla originally announced.
Those problems compounded Tesla's delivery of an estimated 40,000 Cybertrucks before opening orders beyond the reservation system.
Tesla's sales have been difficult to track because the automaker is largely opaque when it comes to breaking down sales per model. Tesla includes sales of the Model 3 and Model Y and all other vehicles (Model S, Model X, Cybertruck, and Tesla Semi) in its “other models” category.
Today, Tesla released its Q4 delivery numbers and confirmed that it delivered 23,640 units of its “other models”.
Based on how Model S and Model X sales have been tracking, we estimate that Tesla delivered between 9,000 and 12,000 Cybertrucks in Q4likely to be smaller than Q3 despite introducing cheaper non-Foundation Series models and opening orders exceeding those with reservations.
It is also clear that it is not a production problem. Tesla has increased discounts and rebates for Cybertruck purchases this quarter. While the inventory of some of its models ended at the end of Q4, Cybertrucks are still available and can be seen on Tesla lots.
There is hope for Tesla. We just reported that the Cybertruck is officially eligible for a $7,500 US tax credit today, which should help demand.
However, the incoming Trump administration, backed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, said they intend to remove it as soon as possible. Therefore, Cybertruck will probably have access for several months. It should help boost sales temporarily until Tesla brings out a single engine and cheaper version of the truck.
Electrek's Take
We've been following the Cybertruck program closely, and we've reported a few times on examples of claimed problems, but I had no idea it was this bad.
There is a real possibility that deliveries of Cybertrucks were flat or down quarter to quarter despite Tesla introducing a cheaper version. That's shit.
Inventories and incentives also make it clear that it is not a production ramp problem but a demand problem.
The tax credit will help, temporarily, and the single-car version will also have an impact on volumes later this year, but I think it's becoming clear that Tesla will have difficulty getting the system to 250,000 units as planned, and Elon's goal. of an ambitious 500,000 units.
As I've been saying for over a year now, the Cybertruck program was a mistake on Elon's part. That's what caused this break in Tesla's growth. Tesla should have focused on cheaper cars as originally planned.
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