Tesla (TSLA) is no longer taking orders for its cheapest Cybertruck, indicating concerns about demand as inventory of more expensive Foundation Series trucks piles up.
Over the weekend, Tesla halted orders for the rear-wheel-drive version of the Cybertruck, which cost around $61,000 and offered a 250-mile range. Now the “cheapest” Cybertruck on the market is the $99,990 all-wheel-drive version with a 318-mile range.
According to Tesla’s website, the Cybertruck AWD – the limited-edition Foundation Series model offered for only the first year – can be ordered with immediate delivery in August or September. The higher-end three-motor “Cyberbeast” version costs $119,900 and is available to order, with delivery expected in October at the earliest.
The halt in orders for the cheapest Cybertruck trim is somewhat problematic, as the company has around 1 million pre-orders for the vehicle, according to Elon Musk, and aims to produce 200,000 Cybertrucks of all trims annually by the end of the year.
While the Cybertruck has sold well—8,755 units in the second quarter, according to Kelley Blue Book, compared to 4,466 Ford F-150 Lightnings and just 3,309 Rivian R1Ts—it’s still a relatively low-volume electric vehicle for Tesla, which delivered 1.8 million vehicles worldwide last year.
Sam Abuelsamid, senior transportation and mobility analyst at research firm Guidehouse Insights, said Tesla has often announced low-cost entry-level versions of its electric vehicles in the past and then delayed them or offered them only in very limited quantities.
Meanwhile, Abuelsamid believes there is a demand problem, especially for the more expensive Cybertrucks.
“I think what’s happened right now is that most people who made reservations have decided they don’t want the truck at the higher price and with the lower capability,” Abuelsamid told Yahoo Finance, citing the fact that the Cybertruck had better features and a more attractive price when it was announced. “So when it came time to convert reservations into firm orders, the majority seem to have canceled.”
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It’s not unusual for only about 30 to 35 percent of hand lifters to convert. But Abuelsamid said if Tesla really had 1 million reservations, the Cybertruck’s current conversion rate seems far worse than the industry standard of 30 to 35 percent.
And that’s because low demand seems to be causing Cybertruck supply to bloat.
Abuelsamid noted that there is anecdotal evidence that a large number of unsold two- and three-engine Foundation Series Cybertrucks are currently sitting in storage yards across the country.
“With the Foundation Series logo engraved (on the truck), they need to get rid of that inventory before they can get the price back down to $80,000 or $100,000. The fact that you can order and have it delivered almost immediately would support that assessment that supply far exceeds demand at the current price and price range.”
Bottom line: Abuelsamid believes most people who really want the Cybertruck already have it, and he suspects sales will now settle closer to the sales of the higher-end Model S and X. According to Kelley Blue Book, Tesla sold about 40,000 Model S and Model X vehicles in the U.S. last year, which would be significantly less than Tesla’s targeted annual production rate of 200,000 Cybertrucks.
Still, Tesla’s decision to stop selling the Cybertruck RWD doesn’t mean it’s gone forever. Abuelsamid noted that Tesla expected deliveries of the Cybertruck RWD to begin in 2025 anyway, so it could reappear on Tesla’s order page sometime next year.
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance and covers the automotive industry. You can follow him on X and further Instagram.
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