Musk says Tesla will end Cybertruck production in 2027 to make room for robotaxis

Tesla’s Cybertruck will give way to robotaxis on the factory floor. Elon Musk said on X that the company will stop producing the pickup in 2027 and use its manufacturing space to build more two-seat Cybercabs, TechCrunch reported. The plan would end a short, disappointing sales run for a vehicle once expected to become a cornerstone of Tesla’s business.

Factory space for a different kind of vehicle

The connection between the cancellation and Tesla’s AI ambitions is physical: the company plans to dedicate the space now used for its steel-clad electric pickup to more robotaxi production. Musk identified the replacement as the Cybercab, Tesla’s purpose-built two-seater, rather than another conventional passenger vehicle.

Cybercabs are already operating on Austin streets. Tesla has spent the past two months putting them into service in its hometown, according to TechCrunch. The factory conversion is therefore intended to support a vehicle already in operation, although the additional manufacturing space remains a plan for after Cybertruck production ends.

A sales forecast the pickup never approached

When Tesla began handing over Cybertrucks, Musk predicted sales of around 250,000 a year. Instead, Tesla has sold only tens of thousands in total over the past three years, TechCrunch reported. The figures measure different periods, but the shortfall is clear: cumulative sales never approached the original forecast for a single year.

That outcome contrasts with the pickup’s original place in Tesla’s manufacturing plans. Before construction began, the company referred to its Texas site as the “Cybertruck factory.” The proposed conversion would now give the pickup’s production space to the robotaxi business as Tesla shifts its focus toward AI and robotics.

The design arrived; the promised price and range did not

The Cybertruck’s difficulties began before customers received it. At the 2019 reveal, Tesla said the truck would start below $40,000 and offer up to 500 miles of range. Its angular, science-fiction-inspired design reached production, but those price and range promises did not.

The truck arrived two years late, with the Covid-19 pandemic contributing to the delay. By the first customer handovers, its base price had risen to around $60,000. The top-end range was more than 100 miles below the figure Tesla had originally advertised.