Tesla pulls plug on controversial Cybertruck after recalls and road safety row

Tesla is preparing to wind down production of its controversial Cybertruck, bringing the curtain down on one of the strangest and most troubled vehicles of the electric car era.

Elon Musk says Tesla will begin scaling back production of the vast stainless steel pick-up at its Texas factory from the middle of 2027, freeing up space to build more of its driverless Cybercab robotaxis.

The Cybertruck has been impossible to ignore since it was first unveiled in 2019, thanks to its huge size, razor-edged bodywork and futuristic design that looked more like a military vehicle from a sci-fi film than a conventional family car.

But controversy followed almost immediately. Tesla’s launch demonstration famously went wrong when the supposedly toughened windows shattered after being hit with a metal ball.

Things did not get much smoother once customers finally got their hands on the Cybertruck in late 2023.

The vehicle has since been hit by a string of safety recalls covering problems including its accelerator pedal, enormous windscreen wiper, reversing camera and exterior trim. Some faults were fixed through software updates, while others required physical repairs.

One of the biggest recalls affected more than 46,000 vehicles over fears an exterior panel could come loose while the Cybertruck was being driven.

Its radical design has also created another major problem for Tesla: getting it on European roads.

The Cybertruck has never received the EU-wide type approval that allows a normal mass-market vehicle to be sold freely across Europe. Its weight, dimensions and unusually sharp bodywork have all raised concerns under European safety rules designed to protect pedestrians and other road users.

It has never officially gone on sale in Britain either.

A Cybertruck being driven near Manchester was seized by police in January 2025 after officers found it was registered and insured abroad and could not legally be driven on UK roads in those circumstances.

Sales have also fallen well short of the huge numbers once talked about by Musk. Tesla sold almost 39,000 Cybertrucks in the US in 2024 before sales dropped sharply the following year.

Tesla is now turning its attention towards the Cybercab, a two-seat autonomous vehicle designed to operate without conventional pedals or a steering wheel.

Musk said: “Tesla will be winding down production of the Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of next year to make room for increased Cybercab production.”

It means the extraordinary Cybertruck could disappear almost as dramatically as it arrived, after a short life marked by recalls, falling sales and arguments over whether its uncompromising design was suitable for ordinary roads at all.