The controversial stainless steel pickup from Tesla is exiting the stage in a manner as dramatic as its debut.

Citing Wall Street Journal reports, Elon Musk posted on X on Friday that Tesla will gradually "wrap up" Cybertruck production at the Texas Gigafactory around mid-next year, shifting instead to expand capacity for the autonomous robotaxi Cybercab.

Since its unveiling in 2019, the Cybertruck drew massive attention with its futuristic design and bulletproof performance claims, but it was accompanied by persistent delays, escalating prices, and a dense record of recalls, never managing to shake off controversy.

This means the model's actual sales cycle, from official deliveries at the end of 2023 to the production halt, spans only about three and a half years — a remarkably swift conclusion compared to the four-year wait from unveiling to delivery.

Just one day before Musk announced the production halt, Tesla once again raised Cybertruck prices, with the top-tier Cyberbeast configuration now priced at $102,490.

Disaster at Launch: The Cracked Window That Planted the Seed

The Cybertruck's troubles began on the very day of its debut.

On November 21, 2019, when Musk unveiled the model at Tesla's design studio in Hawthorne, California, he arranged a demonstration of the window's shatter resistance — throwing a metal ball at the glass. Both windows cracked, and the demo video quickly went viral online.

Musk later explained on X that a prior sledgehammer strike to the door had damaged the base of the glass, preventing the steel ball from bouncing off. Four years later, at the November 2023 delivery event, Tesla chief designer Franz von Holzhausen demonstrated again, throwing a baseball at the armored glass, which this time remained intact.

According to analysts and brand experts, the Cybertruck, built from shiny stainless steel with a design inspired by the dystopian aesthetic of Blade Runner, was originally expected to reshape Tesla's brand image at a time when its reputation was under pressure from aggressive price cuts to boost demand.

Musk also claimed the vehicle would use the same ultra-hard cold-rolled stainless steel alloy as SpaceX's Starship rocket, though Reuters reported that the two actually use closely related but slightly different variants.

Reservation data after the launch was initially encouraging. Musk said on November 23, 2019, that 146,000 orders had been received by then; days later, he announced that reservations had reached 250,000 within five days of the unveiling. Tesla accepted reservations with a $100 refundable deposit.

However, the refundable mechanism cast doubt on the actual conversion value of these reservations. Some reservation holders put their spots up for sale on eBay, with asking prices ranging from $1,000 to $8,000, reflecting that a considerable portion of "buyers" were driven more by speculation than genuine intent to purchase.

Four Years of Delays, Prices Climbing All the Way

The Cybertruck's path to mass production was equally bumpy.

Musk initially promised production would begin by the end of 2021, but by August 2021, Tesla had quietly pushed the plan to 2022, disclosing it only through a note on the reservation page. Production was then delayed again to 2023, with Musk blaming supply chain shortages.

In July 2023, the first Cybertruck rolled off the line at the Texas Gigafactory, which Tesla characterized as trial production. On November 30 of that year, the official delivery event was held in Texas, where Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian received the keys from Musk, becoming one of the first owners.

On pricing, Tesla quoted a starting price of $39,900 at the 2019 unveiling, with the tri-motor flagship at $69,900. By the time of official deliveries at the end of 2023, the starting price had risen to $60,990.

In February 2026, Tesla introduced a dual-motor all-wheel-drive version at $59,990, which Musk said was "only for the next 10 days" — it then rose to $69,990 in March and further to $74,990 in August.

Just one day before the production halt announcement, Tesla raised prices again: that configuration was priced at $82,490, the Premium configuration at $92,490, and the Cyberbeast configuration at $102,490 — nearly double the lowest price quoted at the 2019 unveiling.

Eleven Recalls, Quality Issues Never Far Behind

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, since its market launch at the end of 2023, Tesla has issued 11 recalls for the Cybertruck, with some vehicles requiring physical repairs and others fixed through over-the-air software updates.

The most far-reaching one occurred in January 2024, when a recall prompted by a warning light font issue affected over 2.19 million Tesla vehicles, covering multiple models including the Cybertruck.

In April 2024, 3,878 Cybertrucks were recalled because the accelerator pedal pad could loosen and become stuck in the interior trim. In March 2025, Tesla recalled 46,096 Cybertrucks due to the roof light bar potentially delaminating and detaching.

The frequent recall record echoes the model's overall fortunes since its debut — from the cracked window to the production halt decision, the Cybertruck never managed to escape the crack in its fate.