According to Reuters, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA | TSLA Price Prediction) has just raised the price of its Cybertruck. It may be Tesla’s least successful launch. The news service reports, “The company increased the price of its Cybertruck dual motor and premium all-wheel drive by $5,000 to $74,990 and $84,990 respectively.” The decision doesn’t make any sense.
Tesla started to sell the Cybertruck on November 30, 2023. Tesla first announced it plans to build the vehicle when Elon Musk unveiled a prototype on November 21, 2019. Musk commented at the time, “The apocalypse could come along at any moment, and here at Tesla we have the finest in Apocalypse technology.”
According to Cox Automotive, Cybertruck sales dropped sharply by 48.1% from 38,965 units in 2024 to 20,237 units in 2025. “Cybertruck Called the Biggest Flop in Automotive History,” a recent 247WallSt. headline read. Looking at the first quarter of this year, Cox reports unit sales were only 3,519.
The Cybertruck is not the only evidence that Americans do not want full-sized EV pickup trucks. Ford (NYSE: F) believed its F-150 Lightning would sell hundreds of thousands of units a year. Ford discontinued the product just a few months ago.
And, perhaps the best sign EV pickups have not done well and never will is sales of the Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) pickup model. Across all its models, Rivian only delivered 12,194 vehicles in the second quarter. Rivian’s pickup is the R1T. Its base price is just below $80,000.
The base model of the Cybertruck is priced just below $75,000. The top-of-the-line model is priced at $100,000. The price increase seems indefensible.
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