Last week, Elon Musk announced on
Auto industry observers were quick to speculate that the vehicle’s low sales, delivery delays, inflated prices, numerous recalls and ties to Musk’s far-right MAGA politics may also have factored into the decision. Longtime detractors of the polarizing steel-paneled truck, initially positioned as an electric rival to conventional gas-powered pickup trucks, have taunted Musk and Tesla fans over its demise, noting with some glee that the Cybertruck would leave the market within four years of its November 2023 rollout.
And, in Cybertruck fan communities across the web, owners began to cry.
“Worst news possible,” wrote a member of the Cybertruck Owners Club forum in response to Musk’s post. “No chance of buying another one in the next few years for a newer model or after a car accident. No more aftermarket mods. No more service or parts.” Another noted that they waited for their truck “longer than the line of trucks existed.”
“So not everyone in my group is happy,” Michael Goldman, an entrepreneur in Palm Springs, California, told WIRED. As administrator of the Cybertruck Owners Only Facebook group, which has more than 82,000 members, he is inundated with frenzied messages. “I’ve had people reach out to me through the group and ask, ‘What are you going to do?’ “, explains Goldman. “And I’m like, ‘Man, I don’t know.'”
Since learning of the truck’s end of production, many owners have expressed feelings of betrayal and disappointment. Some are wondering if their current orders will be fulfilled, as Musk claimed Tesla “will have to return a lot of people’s deposits” due to demand outpacing production. Others looked for a glimmer of hope, speculating that the Cybertruck could become a popular collectible.
But Goldman doesn’t want to turn his truck into a “garage princess” because he enjoys driving it and finds it useful in his construction business. “I never want to drive another truck again,” he said, and has considered buying a backup Cybertruck when his first one reaches the end of its life. “I’ll be honest with you, I was going to pull the trigger on one (Cyberbeast) about two days ago, and I already have a reservation in my phone,” Goldman says, but when he was ready to finalize the purchase, “the price went up about another $8,000 or something, and that was my sign not to do it.”
The fact that Musk, against all odds, actually brought his Cybertruck vision to life makes it all the more painful for Goldman to see it abandoned. “The fact that this actually happened and that it only happened for such a short period of time blows my mind,” he says. “That’s why I want to call him out, you know?”
Troy Meekhof, a Tesla enthusiast in Grand Rapids, Michigan, nicknamed “the Cybertruck Guy” on social media, wasn’t shy about expressing his own displeasure. “I can’t help but think it’s Tesla’s reluctance (or incompetence) to make the Cybertruck a success,” he posted in response to Musk’s shutdown announcement last week. “Where were the price cuts? Where were the ads? Where is the range extender?”
“I absolutely think this is a bad decision on the part of the Tesla brand, and it’s not necessarily due to removing an underperforming product, but it is a clear symbol of Tesla’s aggressiveness toward transitioning to self-driving-only vehicles” like the two-seater Cybercab, Meekhof told WIRED in an email. “If you ask me, it’s way too aggressive, and I’m increasingly convinced that, at least in America, the public and lawmakers are not mass ready or interested in autonomous vehicles today.”
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