Cybertruck sees discount as demand wanes for Elon's gaudy monstrosity

If the price of a Cybertruck is the only thing holding you back from buying one, we have good news: Tesla has dropped the price of its truck.

Tesla first dropped the Cybertruck’s MSRP to $79,990 for the AWD version in October, down from $99,990. The tri-motor Cyberbeast trim also had its MSRP drop to $99,990, down from $119,990. Now that these discounts will bring that price even lower, should you jump in 

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Almost $2,000 off MSRP might sweeten the deal

At the time of writing, Tesla has quite a few discounted Cybertrucks available in their online inventory.

Ignoring the “5-year est. gas savings,” the cheapest AWD Cybertruck will set you back $78,390. That’s a $1,600 discount from the AWD model’s $79,990 MSRP. Strangely, a 2024 Demo truck with 1,485 miles on the odometer costs $78,760, or $370 more.

For those looking to flex a little more, the cheapest tri-motor Cyberbeast on offer costs $97,030, a $2,960 discount from its $99,990 MSRP.

Tesla Cybertruck

Tesla

Why is Tesla discounting the Cybertruck?

The aluminum beast’s polarizing design turned heads when it was announced, but the novelty quickly wore off. Tesla marketed the vehicle as a rough-and-tumble truck that could withstand a dystopian hellscape, but the Cybertruck routinely fails when taken off-road.

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Cybertrucks have many problems, the most noticeable of which are their build quality issues. They are banned in the UK because they are not safe enough, and the owner’s manual suggests that they should not transport “large amounts” of liquid, as a spill may cause the truck to malfunction.

In December 2024, Reuters reported that Cybertrucks linger longer on used car lots than they did just a few months earlier, suggesting that the public has fallen out of love with them.

A more recent report even suggests that Tesla has scaled down production of its Cybertruck, moving workers at the Austin Gigafactory over to Model Y production.

Tesla Cybertruck

Tesla

Should you buy a Cybertruck?

No vehicle is perfect, but it’s difficult to argue in favor of the Cybertruck. Even if you’re enamored by its boxy design, the Cybertruck is not a great vehicle, much less a proper truck. It’s also an attention magnet, usually for all the wrong reasons.

The Cybertruck has become a proxy for people’s disdain for Elon Musk. If you buy one, expect side-eye glares and outright mockery, often because people dislike Elon. It doesn’t take more than a Google search to find Cybertrucks vandalized with anti-Elon messages.

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Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk verbally reacts in front of the Tesla Cybertruck with broken windows following a demonstration that did not go as planned on November 21, 2019, at Tesla Design Center in Hawthorne, California.

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

Final thoughts

Cybertruck deliveries spiked in Q3 2024 when Tesla delivered 16,700 units. If Tesla could keep delivering around 17,000 units per quarter, that would mean roughly 70,000 new Cybertrucks on the road each year.

Elon Musk estimated Tesla would sell about 150,000 Cybertrucks annually. However, considering the slowing production and quarter sales that were less than half of what Musk and Tesla estimated, that original figure seems unattainable. This is on top of the numerous build quality issues we mentioned.

It’s easy to see why Tesla is discounting Cybertruck, but it’s a hard sell regardless of its cost.

Related: Rivian’s design travels a different road

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