Tesla’s elusive Cybertruck sales figures have finally come to light, disclosed within a recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall notice. The recall, addressing a defect in the truck’s massive windshield wiper, unveiled how many futuristic vehicles are currently in circulation.
On Monday, June 24, Tesla announced a recall for the Cybertruck due to a potential failure in its large front wiper, caused by “excessive electrical current.” This is the fourth recall since the vehicle’s release late last year. The notice also mentioned a separate recall for a trim panel in the truck’s bed.
Tesla disclosed that 11,688 Cybertrucks are affected by the recall, indicating the total number of units sold so far. This figure is particularly significant since Tesla does not separate Cybertruck sales in its quarterly reports.
Production of the Cybertruck began in late November at Tesla’s Giga Austin facility. A previous recall notice revealed that 1,163 units were delivered in December. Approximately 10,525 Cybertrucks were produced and delivered in 2024, resulting in an average monthly delivery rate of around 1,754 vehicles.
Extrapolating these figures suggests that Tesla could deliver approximately 23,500 Cybertrucks by the end of the year. However, at Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting two weeks ago, CEO Elon Musk revealed that the company had reached a production rate of 1,300 Cybertrucks per week, with a target of 2,500 vehicles per week by the end of 2024.
Achieving this production goal would mean a theoretical output of 125,000 Cybertrucks annually, assuming two weeks of factory downtime. This is half of Tesla’s projected full-volume production capacity of 250,000 units per year.
The critical question remains whether there is sufficient demand to support the production of 125,000 to 250,000 Cybertrucks annually. Musk has previously stated that demand for the Cybertruck was “off the hook,” and mentioned during the shareholder meeting that more affordable versions of the Cybertruck are forthcoming. The current Foundation Series starts at $102,235, but future models like the Cyberbeast ($96,390) and All-Wheel Drive ($76,390) could attract more buyers.
Despite these developments, the overall demand for electric vehicles, including Tesla’s popular Model Y SUV, remains uncertain. Musk acknowledged that the EV market is facing challenges, with competitors also scaling back their investments and production.
Tesla is set to report its second-quarter delivery numbers next week, with expectations of around 441,000 deliveries for the quarter, according to Bloomberg consensus. This would be an increase from the 386,800 deliveries in Q1 but below the 466,100 units delivered in the same quarter last year.
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