Cybertruck Sales Plunge as Some Trims Rise $5,000; Tesla's Strategy Shift in Focus

That is a 48% decline and falls well short of the annual production target of 250,000 units.

Tesla raised the price of some Cybertruck trims by $5,000 without changing their specifications. The Dual Motor AWD model rose from $69,990 to $74,990, and the Premium AWD model rose from $79,990 to $84,990. The top-tier Cyberbeast stayed at $99,990.

That is higher than competing models such as the Ford F-150 Lightning and the Rivian R1T.

Instead of a purely battery-electric pickup, Ford plans to switch to a hybrid format in which a combustion engine acts as a generator. This is read as Ford's response to changing demand in the electric pickup market.

Tesla had planned the Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD as a lower-priced value trim to expand volume. To achieve this, it cut some premium equipment and features compared with the higher trims to lower the price. However, this price increase is analyzed as a signal that Tesla now places greater importance on per-unit profitability, meaning margin, than on growing Cybertruck sales volume.

This Cybertruck price adjustment raises the overall average selling price (ASP). In particular, the Premium AWD price increase narrows its gap with the Cyberbeast by $5,000. This could also indirectly boost sales of the top trim by making the Cyberbeast look relatively less expensive.

Apart from sales, the Cybertruck left Tesla with important technical assets. Many of the new technologies Tesla applied at scale for the first time were developed and produced for the Cybertruck. Representative examples include the 48V low-voltage electrical architecture, Steer-by-Wire system, 800V high-voltage system, and large castings and new body manufacturing techniques. These technologies are expected to become long-term assets applied to Tesla's other models and production methods.