Cybertruck Deliveries Look Dismal Again, After Truck Called “Biggest Flop In Automotive History”
Tesla buried Cybertruck sales inside a catch-all reporting category for years, but a quirk in Q3 2026 finally cracked it open, and what analysts found raises serious questions about the truck's future.
On July 22, 2026, Bloomberg published a piece comparing the Cybertruck from Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA | TSLA Price Prediction) to the Edsel from Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F). Based on Bloomberg’s analysis, several outlets including Futurism called the Cybertruck the “biggest flop in automotive history.”
Bloomberg notes Ford introduced the Edsel in 1957, predicted 200,000 units in its first year, sold less than a third of that, and dropped it two years later. Its verdict on the Cybertruck was harsher: Tesla’s annual sales target was 250,000 units, but it didn’t even crack 40,000 sales in its first year.
At the time, nobody outside Tesla could verify how many Cybertruck units actually sold.
Why the Number Stayed Hidden Until Now
Tesla groups the Cybertruck into an “Other Models” line alongside the Model S and Model X. Electrek reported that production of both sedans ended in April, which makes the third quarter the first period where the category is effectively a Cybertruck number.
Tesla, via Electrek, delivered 8,295 Other Models in Q3, versus 15,933 a year earlier. Electrek put the decline at 48%, the category’s lowest since Q2 2021, when Electrek says Tesla delivered 1,890 Model S and X during a refresh transition.
Electrek estimates Tesla delivered 7,000 to 8,000 trucks, a pace Electrek pegs at about 30,000 a year. Electrek calls that 13% of the of Musk’s 250,000 goal.
How Electrek Built Its Estimate
Three other products still sit in the category. Electrek counted about 600 leftover Model S and X units plus a final Signature run of 350. Electrek puts Semi deliveries in the hundreds, since volume production began September 25. The Cybercab is the real unknown, because Tesla delivers some to itself. The range is careful outside estimation, and Tesla has confirmed none of it.
Tesla, via Electrek, built 7,004 Other Models, down from 11,624. The category delivered more than it built, suggesting inventory reduction.
A Better Quarter by Cybertruck Standards
Electrek previously estimated about 5,000 deliveries in Q2 2025 and about 21,500 for all of 2025. Three forces lifted Q3: a cheaper dual-motor trim arrived in late June, gas averaged $4.35 per gallon in early October, and a backlog built up. Tesla, via Electrek, told a court in July it had “several thousand Cybertrucks already committed to customers” it could not build during a casting supplier dispute.
With demand moving, Electrek reports Tesla raised prices $5,000 in August, putting the dual-motor at $74,990. So Futurism’s July label described a truck about to post one of its better quarters, and that quarter remains a small fraction of plan.
What the One Named Analyst Said
Garrett Nelson of CFRA Research told Bloomberg the truck will more likely “fade away” than be discontinued completely.
Nelson added: “It’s possible that they try to do some sort of redesign, or come up with a different variant to try to boost sales, but we think that would really be a futile effort.”
His wording is more measured than the headline the story is remembered for.
Third-Party Counts and the EV Pickup Field
Cox Automotive, via Electrek, estimated 3,744 U.S. Cybertruck sales in Q2. S&P Global Mobility, via Electrek, counted 7,071 registrations in Q4 2025, with 1,339 going to SpaceX and other Musk companies. S&P Global Mobility, via Futurism, shows barely 7,100 U.S. registrations in 2026 so far.
Still, Cox Automotive, via Electrek, ranks the Cybertruck ahead of the discontinued Ford F-150 Lightning at 2,421, the Chevy Silverado EV at 2,266, and the R1T from Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) at 1,219. That says as much about the category as the truck.
A Quarter Wall Street Liked
Tesla, via Ars Technica, delivered 486,532 vehicles, a 2.1% decline, exceeding the 456,600 Ars Technica cited as expectations. CNBC reported shares jumped 5%; they traded at $379.81 at 11:00 AM ET October 12, -15.55% year to date.
Window Closing on the Clearest View
Electrek notes the Semi is increasing at a Nevada plant Tesla says can build 50,000 trucks a year, all landing in Other Models. Within a few quarters, the Cybertruck disappears back inside the category. Q3 results arrive October 21.
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AJ spent 10 years writing about financial markets at The Motley Fool. His coverage centers on technology stocks and the broader macroeconomic trends, from interest rates to geopolitics, that shape where markets are headed next. AJ is drawn to the stories where big-picture economics and individual companies collide.
