Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) Cybertruck: From a cracked window to discontinuation, the end of a three-and-a-half-year run

Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US)'s controversial stainless steel pickup is exiting the stage of history in a manner as dramatic as its birth. As mentioned by Wall Street CN, Musk posted on X on Friday that Tesla, Inc. will gradually "wind down" Cybertruck production at the Texas Gigafactory around the middle of next year, shifting instead to expanding production capacity for the robotaxi Cybercab. Since its unveiling in 2019, the Cybertruck drew massive attention with its futuristic design and bulletproof-performance marketing, but it was followed by persistent delays, steadily climbing prices, and a dense recall record, never managing to shake off controversy. This means that from official deliveries at the end of 2023 to discontinuation, the model's actual sales cycle was only about three and a half yearscompared with the four-year wait from unveiling to delivery, the speed of its demise is striking. Just one day before Musk announced the production halt, Tesla, Inc. raised Cybertruck prices yet again, with the top-trim Cyberbeast priced at US$102,490. A debacle at launch: the cracked window foreshadowed what was to come The Cybertruck's troubles began on the very day of its unveiling. On November 21, 2019, when Musk unveiled the model at Tesla, Inc.'s design studio in Hawthorne, California, he arranged a demonstration of the windows' shatter resistancethrowing a metal ball at the glass. Both windows cracked, and the demo video quickly went viral online. Musk later explained on X that a prior sledgehammer strike to the door had damaged the base of the glass, causing the steel ball not to bounce off. Four years later, at the November 2023 delivery event, Tesla, Inc. chief designer Franz von Holzhausen demonstrated again, throwing a baseball at the armored glass, which this time remained intact. According to analysts and brand experts, the Cybertruck, built from shiny stainless steel with a design inspired by the dystopian style of "Blade Runner," was originally expected to reshape Tesla, Inc.'s brand image at a time when its reputation was under pressure from steep price cuts to boost demand. Musk also claimed the vehicle would use the same ultra-hard cold-rolled stainless steel alloy as SpaceX's "Starship" rocket, though Reuters reported that the two actually use closely related but slightly different variants. Reservation figures after the unveiling were once encouraging. Musk said on November 23, 2019 that 146,000 orders had been received by then; days later he announced that reservations had reached 250,000 within five days of the unveiling. Tesla, Inc. accepted reservations in the form of a US$100 refundable deposit. However, the refundable mechanism cast doubt on the actual conversion value of those reservations. Some reservation holders put their slots up for sale on eBay at prices between US$1,000 and US$8,000, reflecting that a considerable portion of "buyers" were driven more by speculation than genuine intent to purchase. Four years of delays, prices climbing all the way The Cybertruck's path to mass production was equally bumpy. Musk initially promised production would begin by the end of 2021, but by August 2021, Tesla, Inc. had quietly pushed the plan to 2022, disclosing it only through a note on the reservation page. The production plan was later pushed again to 2023, with Musk blaming supply chain shortages. In July 2023, the first Cybertruck rolled off the line at the Texas Gigafactory, which Tesla, Inc. characterized as trial production. On November 30 of the same year, the official delivery event was held in Texas, with Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian receiving the keys from Musk as one of the first owners. On pricing, Tesla, Inc. quoted a starting price of US$39,900 at the 2019 unveiling, with the tri-motor flagship at US$69,900. By the time of official deliveries at the end of 2023, the starting price had risen to US$60,990. In February 2026, Tesla, Inc. introduced a US$59,990 dual-motor all-wheel-drive version, with Musk saying the price was "only for the next 10 days"it then rose to US$69,990 in March and to US$74,990 in August. Just one day before the discontinuation announcement, Tesla, Inc. raised prices again: that configuration was priced at US$82,490, the Premium configuration at US$92,490, and the Cyberbeast configuration at US$102,490nearly double the lowest price at the 2019 unveiling. 11 recalls, quality problems never far behind According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, since its market launch at the end of 2023, Tesla, Inc. has issued 11 recalls for the Cybertruck, with some vehicles requiring physical repairs and the rest fixed via over-the-air software updates. The broadest one occurred in January 2024, when a recall over a warning light font issue affected more than 2.19 million Tesla, Inc. vehicles, covering multiple models including the Cybertruck. In April 2024, 3,878 Cybertrucks were recalled because the accelerator pedal pad could come loose and become trapped in the interior trim. In March 2025, Tesla, Inc. recalled 46,096 Cybertrucks because the roof light bar could delaminate and detach. The frequent recall record echoes the model's overall fortunes since its unveilingfrom the cracked window to the discontinuation decision, the Cybertruck never escaped that crack in its fate. This article is reprinted from the "Wall Street CN" APP, author: Bao Yilong; GMTEight editor: Song Zhiying.