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The Tesla Cybertruck Isn’t Living Up to Expectations
It’s been over a year since the first Tesla Cybertrucks were delivered to customers, and it seems like those initial high hopes have given way to disappointment. Despite Elon Musk’s boast that there are over 1 million reservations for the vehicle, the actual sales numbers just aren’t adding up.
While the Cybertruck did experience a strong start, with reports of used vehicles piling up on car lots and factory workers being sent home for three days in December, it’s clear that something has gone terribly wrong. In fact, data from CarGurus shows the average price of used Cybertrucks dropping steadily over the past few months.
As of December 30th, the cost to lease a brand-new Cybertruck starts at around $900 per month, while the base model all-wheel drive version costs a staggering minimum of $90,000. Meanwhile, analysts are warning that the federal EV tax credit benefit the vehicle recently qualified for may be short-lived, thanks in part to the expected withdrawal of support from Donald Trump.
With prices as steep as they are and no clear indication of increased demand, it’s difficult to see how the Cybertruck will ever become a “significant cash flow contributor” within the 18-month window Musk has promised. The outlook for the Cybertruck is grim, and many experts agree that Tesla missed an opportunity to follow up their wildly successful Model Y with a more affordable EV.
Instead, we got a highly polarizing lifestyle vehicle that will likely never sell as many units as its predecessors. As one analyst notes, “Tesla has had big volume hits like the Model Y, which is in the top five selling vehicles in the US.” Unfortunately for Cybertruck enthusiasts, it seems this truck just doesn’t have what it takes to achieve that same level of success.
The failure of the Cybertruck casts a shadow over Tesla’s entire business strategy.
Source: www.theverge.com
