Tesla will refund deposits to many Cybertruck customers as it prepares to discontinue production of the electric pickup at its Texas factory by mid-2027, Chief Executive Elon Musk has said.
Musk disclosed the decision on Monday, November 9, 2026, in a post on X, explaining that outstanding orders exceed the company’s production capacity before the planned shutdown.
“We will try to make as many as possible before shutting down the line in about 8 months, but will have to return deposits for a lot of people,” he wrote.
According to Reuters’ report on November 9, Musk did not disclose the number of customers affected, the total outstanding orders or how Tesla would determine which customers would receive vehicles and which would get refunds.
The announcement follows Musk’s November 6 disclosure that Tesla would wind down Cybertruck production at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of 2027. The company intends to redirect the factory space, equipment and workers towards expanding production of its Cybercab robotaxi.
Musk has also indicated that Tesla will introduce an additional production shift to fulfil more outstanding Cybertruck orders before the manufacturing line is dismantled.
He rejected suggestions that the decision was driven by the vehicle’s profitability, arguing that the opportunity cost of manufacturing the complex pickup was outweighed by the potential benefits of producing more Cybercabs.
However, the production decision comes against a backdrop of declining Cybertruck sales and weaker demand than Musk initially anticipated.
Kelley Blue Book, a vehicle valuation and automotive research firm owned by Cox Automotive, estimated that US Cybertruck sales fell 48 per cent to 20,237 units in 2025, compared with 38,965 in 2024.
The decline continued in 2026. The firm’s estimates put US sales at 11,586 units between January and September, down 28 per cent from 16,097 vehicles recorded during the corresponding period of 2025.
The figures highlight the gap between the vehicle’s early expectations and its commercial performance. Before its launch, Musk had projected that Tesla could eventually sell as many as 250,000 Cybertrucks annually, Reuters reported.
Tesla does not separately disclose Cybertruck sales in its regular delivery reports, making Kelley Blue Book’s estimates an important measure of the vehicle’s performance in the US market.
The Cybertruck was unveiled in 2019, but customer deliveries did not begin until late 2023. Despite attracting considerable attention and developing a loyal customer base, the vehicle has struggled to achieve the sales volumes initially anticipated.
Tesla’s decision to redirect manufacturing resources reflects its growing focus on autonomous driving technology and robotaxis.
In its second-quarter 2026 update, the company confirmed that Cybercab production had begun at Gigafactory Texas, describing the vehicle as a central part of its robotaxi strategy.
The two-seat vehicle is designed without a steering wheel or pedals and is intended to operate autonomously.
However, its commercial deployment has attracted regulatory scrutiny. On September 4, 2026, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced an investigation into Tesla’s self-certification of the Cybercab’s compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards.
Despite the planned production shutdown, Musk sought to reassure existing Cybertruck owners that the vehicles would remain supported for years.
He said the existing Cybertruck fleet would remain on the roads for a long time, although Tesla has not provided detailed information about future parts availability, servicing arrangements or whether production could eventually continue at another facility.
