Tesla to refund some Cybertruck deposits as orders outpace production before the line closes

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Monday that the company will return Cybertruck deposits to many customers because orders far exceed what its Texas factory can build before production ends. Musk said the company will keep building the electric pickup for about eight more months before shutting the line, a move announced last week to make room for increased Cybercab robotaxi production. In a Saturday post on X, he said Tesla would add an extra shift to fill as many outstanding orders as possible before dismantling the line around June or July next year. Musk rejected claims that the truck is being cut because it is unprofitable, saying the complexity of the Cybertruck is outweighed by the value of Cybercab output. Wall Street analyst Dan Ives said the decision was foreseeable given the truck's high price and low demand. Tesla launched the Cybertruck in 2019 at a starting price of $69,000 and began delivering it in late 2023. US sales fell to about 20,000 vehicles last year from nearly 39,000 in 2024, according to Kelley Blue Book, far below Musk's early forecast of 250,000 annual sales.

The New York Post, the right-leaning outlet, leads with Musk's Saturday post about the extra shift and the backlog he says Tesla cannot clear before the line is dismantled for Cybercab expansion. It quotes his claim that the backlog far exceeds what Tesla can build, and it devotes much of its space to the truck's shortfalls: weak sales against Musk's forecast, repeated recalls, quality concerns and limited prospects overseas. CBS News, the left-leaning outlet, leads with the refund announcement from Musk's Monday post. It features Dan Ives and Musk's rebuttal on profitability, and it cites the $69,000 launch price, but it does not cover the sales figures, recalls or overseas limits. Both outlets agree on the shutdown timing, the demand gap and the Cybercab shift, but the New York Post omits the refund plan while CBS omits the extra shift. Reuters, the alternative outlet, centers the refunds and demand gap, closely matching CBS.