07:33 27-10-2025

Cybertruck demand fizzles as Tesla redirects to SpaceX and xAI

Tesla has hit a rough patch: sales of the futuristic Cybertruck landed roughly ten times below expectations. Of the 250,000 units initially planned, only about 20,000 found buyers. The rest have been redirected into Elon Musk’s own ecosystem, chiefly to SpaceX and xAI.

According to U.S. media, SpaceX has already taken delivery of hundreds of Cybertrucks and is preparing to accept thousands more to replace its corporate fleet. Several batches have also gone to xAI, the artificial intelligence venture. In practice, this lets Tesla clear unsold inventory while presenting them as internal sales.

Musk and Tesla’s engineers frame the move as part of a broader ambition to swap gasoline vehicles for electric ones within their companies. Analysts, however, view it as a forced step: the Cybertruck remains difficult to insure, faces bans in certain countries, and draws criticism for its usability and polarizing design.

The Cybertruck has become a rare misstep for Tesla, so Musk now leans on it as rolling publicity for his other projects. Out on the road, the steel pickup grabs plenty of attention, yet attention isn’t the same as demand; even within Musk’s empire, it comes off more like a meme than a marker of progress.