Tesla Cybertruck Production Staff Cut As Sales Slow

Back in early December, Tesla told Cybertruck line workers that they didn’t need to come to work for three days.

Photo by: InsideEVs

Andrei Nedelea

By: Andrei Nedelea

Jan 10, 2025 at 4:00pm ET

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Tesla has relocated part of its Cybertruck production staff to build Model Ys.
Cybertruck line workers were asked in December if they wanted to switch from Cybertruck to Model Y production.
Not enough workers opted to move to Model Y production so "some people were forced to switch over."

Tesla Cybertruck deliveries began with fanfare and sales seemed to be off to a good start when it became America’s best-selling electric pickup in the second quarter of 2024. But after fulfilling the backlog of orders, demand seemed to decline, and it was made obvious when in early December of 2024, Cybertruck line workers were asked not to come to work for three days.

The internal memo sent to employees in December also announced that there were going to be some team changes come January and workers a survey asking them what work assignments they preferred. Business Insider says that this has now been put into practice, and part of the Cybertruck production staff at Tesla’s Austin factory has been moved to Model Y assembly.

In the survey, Tesla indirectly admitted that there may be less need for Cybertruck production when it told employees that “As we continue to assess schedules to meet business needs, we'll be making a change to Model Y and Cyber schedules, and we want to ensure that your preferences are considered.” However, it seems there were not enough workers who expressed their desire to move from Cybertruck to Model Y production, which is why, according to one employee, “some people were forced to switch over."

It would also make sense for Tesla to prepare for increased Model Y demand. The crossover is very popular (likely to become the world’s best-selling vehicle for a second year in a row), and now, with the refreshed model being revealed (thankfully with a physical turn signal stalk, not without it like the revised Model 3), demand should be even higher.

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Tesla hopes that Cybertruck sales will stabilize, and they should improve now that in 2025, it is eligible for the $7,500 tax credit. It also lowered the lease more than once, the last time in December, when the price dropped to $899 per month for the dual-motor and $999 for the tri-motor Cyberbeast. Tesla really seemed to be trying to move some unsold Foundation Series Cybertrucks when it announced it was offering free lifetime Supercharging (with some limitations) for trucks bought from inventory.

The biggest problems affecting the Cybertruck’s demand remain its image (which doesn’t make it appeal to traditional truck buyers, even those who want to go electric) and the absence of the promised cheaper version. It’s just too expensive to make sense as anything other than a novelty showoff toy—it’s not really taken seriously as a work truck, even though it’s objectively a good electric pickup with plenty of capability, even off-road.