There was great fanfare when deliveries of the Tesla Cybertruck finally began in earnest in late 2023. Influencers and die-hard fans fought for the first trucks off the line, while flippers made out big by reselling in the early days. However, it appears demand may have cooled significantly based on new photos out of Texas.
These photos come to us from Zerin Dube, auto writer and photographer extraordinaire. He regularly finds himself passing Tesla’s delivery center down in Houston, and he’s spotted something odd of late. For some reason, there are a ton of Cybertrucks just sitting around—and the mass seems to be growing at a rapid rate.
We’re not just talking about a parking lot full of trucks that are waiting for eager buyers. The Cybertrucks long ago spilled over onto the surrounding bare land. Some have been sitting long enough that they have grass growing up around the tires. It begs the question—why is Tesla storing its prime stock in this way?
CTRL+C, CTRL+V pic.twitter.com/jlHXDVkYem
— Zerin Dube (@SpeedSportLife) August 11, 2024
Tesla doesn’t have a PR department anymore, but we like to do our due diligence. Thus, we sent a note to their last valid PR email address asking them for comment on the matter anyway. We don’t expect a response, given Elon Musk shut the department down in 2020, so that leaves us to speculate. Absent any standing recall or technical issue with the vehicles, it simply suggests Tesla’s production has outstripped demand.
Zerin’s take is very much along the same lines. “I reckon all those people who ordered aren’t taking delivery when push comes to shove,” says Zerin. He notes that it only cost $100 to get on Tesla’s list until December 2023, when the price jumped to $1000. “How many ordered for the lulz?” he asks.
Tesla recently stopped taking orders for the cheaper, and as-of-yet unreleased $61,000 version with a 250-mile range that’s scheduled to be delivered in 2025. A recent report from Reuters suggests that demand for the more expensive models is waning:
“It shows that demand is a lot less than a million trucks,” Guidehouse Insights analyst Sam Abuelsamid told Reuters.
[…]
“They’re sitting on a lot of inventory of two-motor and three-motor trucks right now,” Abuelsamid said.
While models can pile up for various reasons (Ford had to hold a bunch of new F-150s to do quality checks recently), it’s always a bad look for an automaker when a major new model is seen piling up in parking lots. It’s another thing entirely when they’re dumped in great numbers on grass because there simply isn’t anywhere else to put them.
The Cybertruck isn’t the only Tesla model with excess inventory piling up. As can be seen in the video below from July, the parking lot is full of Tesla sedans and SUVs, too. Perhaps it’s simply that Cybertrucks are the easiest to store off pavement. Alternatively, they might just be the most recent vehicles trucked into the already-full parking lot.
Every time I drive by there’s more and more CyberTrucks piling up. Some have grass growing up the tires lol pic.twitter.com/opCZMbXlRZ
— Zerin Dube (@SpeedSportLife) July 16, 2024
Word on the street is that this isn’t just happening in Texas. In June, a user named benzblogger posted footage from Atlanta, Georgia showing huge numbers of Teslas parked by a distribution center at a local mall. As she filmed, a car carrier rolled in hauling four additional Cybertrucks into the lot. Around the same time, Road & Track reported that “dozens” of Cybertrucks had been vandalized in an unattended lot in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. There were no surveillance cameras in the area.
Meanwhile, others have reported similar scenes at other Tesla locations. Twitter users have noted Tesla stock, particularly Cybertrucks, building up in parking lots at Tesla Collision Houston and Tesla League City, both in Texas.
@benzblogger am I wrong? #tesla #cybertruck #EV #gwinnett #ATL #newcars #cartok
♬ Clown, wonder, fairy tale, clown waltz(1326760) – kaedemusics
Tesla’s unsold inventory made the news earlier this year, with some outlets even noting you could spot the cars “from space.” That’s not particularly hard with modern satellite imaging, but the articles all revealed huge amounts of inventory that was seemingly languishing without buyers.
Still, not every Tesla facility is bursting at the seams with excess product. Back in May, Tesla Fremont had cars squeezed into every last bit of available space, with hundreds overflowing onto grassed areas. A drone overflight in early August, however, showed the factory’s lots to be far emptier by comparison. It suggests that the California factory may have slowed output in response to slower sales for the brand.
Tesla’s Fremont factory is one facility that is looking less overstocked in recent months.
The overstock problem isn’t just limited to the US. In Germany, Tesla has rented an entire airport to store overflow stock. In Australia, parking lots at Port Melbourne are overflowing with Teslas that simply aren’t moving. It follows a 44% slump for Tesla’s Australian sales in April.
Automakers generally try to keep production levels fairly close to expected demand, but it’s not a perfect science. Production lines only work in a cost sense if they’re kept running to a certain degree, and there’s a lag in how responsive they can be to market changes. Plus, once a glut of product builds up, it can take time to shift. Dealerships can help in this regard, with astute dealers able to run discount programs and cut deals to move product. Tesla has to do all that by itself, operating out of mall parking lots across the country.
The former German military airbase is overflowing with Teslas of all kinds.
Ultimately, automakers don’t want stock sitting around. Cars that sit don’t make money, they cost money. It’s all the more shocking that Tesla is having this problem with the Cybertruck. It was a heavily-hyped vehicle that was long-awaited by the brand’s diehard fans, with reports of reservations well into the seven-figure range.
After less than a year on sale, we’re seeing Cybertrucks en masse, but not on the road. They’re sitting around outside Tesla distribution centers and on grass verges in Texas, presumably waiting for someone, anyone, to take them home. Back in February, scoring a scalped Cybertruck might have cost you over $240,000. Now it appears there are plenty to spare.
Image credits: Zerin Dube
Top graphic Elon Musk image via YouTube
Wait, how the heck can a major global automobile manufacturer *not* have a public relations department? That would be some kind of combination of irresponsibly stupid and crazy… The shareholders should revolt. Oh, it’s Tesla? Ok, that jibes.
“theyve got 1.7 million preorders, itll take 7 years to get your truck if you order now” if they hadnt banned anyone who said anything less than glowing from all the tesla subreddits id be all up in their koolaid.
Regardless of any actual capabilities or merit, the Cybertruck is ultimately just a fashion accessory for Tesla fanboys, and there are always fewer fanboys than there are normal people cross-shopping with other products.
Please buy me
No
Theres got to be a market for stainless steel dumpsters
Its almost as if being a enormous jackass has consequences. from killing the PR department, to mass layoffs for no reason other than to scare the rest of the workers, to stumping for a pedophile, hes managed to completely alienate his core customer base, which is liberals with money.
Where i live (Boulder, CO) people are covering the tesla logos and/or selling them and getting a competitors EV en masse. just in the past year ive seen a dramatic shift from teslas to fords, VWs, hyundais and rivians. Tesla is in big trouble, now that there is genuine competition. I just hope that the board can finally oust him and replace him with someone that knows how to run a car company.
I’m a bit further south of you (Conifer-ish; notably more purple), and I’ve not seen logos being covered. Teslas are commonplace, and I’ve seen plenty of Cybertrucks. 100% agree though. My parents (D mom and Trump-loathing R dad) were recently in the market for an EV, and wanted nothing to do with Tesla (ended up with a Lyriq, upon which I learned of the existence of the Lyriq).
i would def never buy a tesla straight from them. but ive got a friend with a model 3 performance hes looking to get rid of and id buy from him no problem. theyre going for about 22-25k and for the price its a good ev. i would be removing tesla logos tho.
Last week I finally gave up and sold my Tesla. I truly loved the car, but couldn’t stomach anymore being in any way, shape or form connected to the Guy.
The main issue is that most EV naysayers are using these pictures to argue that EV sales are flailing, when it is one person’s hubris and increased derangement what is on display.
I’d definitely take one for $11,000 yes
Oh sorry you meant $110,000? Heck off.
as a wise man once said
lol. lmao even.
“Note the color mismatch on one truck”
Uh, no. I see color mismatches on pretty much ALL of them. Some much worse than others.
Hahahahahahaha!
And as I recently said on Ars Technica, ‘Ketamine must be one hell of a drug’.
The Ars-Topian Iluminati grows stronger every second!
I want a Cybertruck, wanted one since revealed but I am not paying $100k for one. Even my coworker who has had like 5 Tesla’s, I think all his kids have one said the same thing. Stop trying to force your expensive founders edition bullshit on us, release the 60k model, hopefully with batteries that qualify for the credits and you’ll sell a bunch. Until then, fuck no.
And they said Elon could never mass produce the Cybertruck!
I was one of them. I was wrong and I am a fool.
I bet Elon wishes you were right.
I genuinely hope that Tesla ends up having to tell shareholders what the actual conversion percentage is between preorder and actual orders from preorder holders.
I was a preorder holder, and I canceled mine in the first week after I learned about the lack of physical door handles and the steer by wire system. Everything I have learned since then has reaffirmed my decision to cancel my preorder.
I’m thinking about all the people either like you who canceled their preorders, or who kept their preorders but declined delivery. How many trucks did Tesla build based on those preorders?
This truck is their big halo product/loss leader. I can’t imagine how much money is tied up in those grass lots right now. LOL Tesla!
I’ve got so many thoughts on this… To me, this is a very important thing right now..
First – Tesla is now experiencing the same thing that happened to Bud Light, just from the opposite side of the aisle. Remember when, according to the media, Elon was a genius who could do no wrong? Well, he’s come out as a conservative Trump supporter, so those days are over. Most news that you read about Tesla is bad news… and suddenly, people who used to be Musk fanboys are suddenly Musk haters and wouldn’t be caught dead in Tesla. This is especially bad for Tesla because most liberals are the exact people who buy electric vehicles. It’s also bad timing because Tesla has competition – Every car auto maker is now selling electric cars.
Second – Tesla trucks cost $100k. Besides not being a great truck, most people either don’t have that kind of money or just refuse to spend that kind of money on a vehicle. The barrel is about dry when it comes to those who do and will. Musk pissing off half the population couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Cyber truck. Elon has joined the Trump side of politics and most Trump supporters are low and middle class working guys. Guys who don’t have the money to support Elon by purchasing his truck.
Third – As I said, the barrel is about dry when it comes to people that can buy a $60-$100k vehicle. I think you’ll see every manufacturer with stockpiles of inventory. It seems like prices skyrocketed overnight. Something has got to give and I predict you’ll see a few companies go under. Sadly, Tesla may not survive this. I think Dodge is a dead duck.
I’d say the Bud Light scandal was much worse for the company. A few custom cans were made under the orders of someone low on the totem pole of an advertising agency for someone who was controversial and not likely to increase sales in any drastic manner, but it turned out they were able to drastically decrease sales, so much so it almost tanked a massive brand. The responses from the brand were to shame their customers, who had almost no brand loyality, and instead of putting out the fire the brand kept fueling the flames of it, so much so it expanded to products of the parent company of Anheuser-Busch(AB InBev). Eventually after trying every other idea they had to put out the fire they eventually stopped shaming, sponsored Shane Gillis (who received some shit for it but was always a fan of Bud Light), and it has died down for the most part but I doubt that sales have recovered.
The big difference between Bud Light and Tesla is that Tesla doesn’t make some of the cheapest and shittiest BEVs with lots of competition, and they don’t have a massive advertising department to stir up controversy. They make arguably the best BEVs on the market currently (due to them using NACS, the reliability and ease of use of the Tesla Charging network, and arguably the best UI of any infotainment system in a car). As other automakers adopt NACS in the US and stop making Tesla knockoffs (ID4, Mach E, etc.) we’ll see other automakers succeed in the BEV marketplace.
I completely agree with your other points. Tesla should have
1.) Made the Cybertruck Maverick Pickup sized, carry over a lot of internal components from the Model 3 and Model Y (like a mechanical steering mechanism), and not called it a “Truck”
2.) They should have made the body out of aluminum instead of stainless steel.
With the footprint rule being irrelevant to BEVs there’s no reason why not to make BEV pickups smaller than ICE pickups other than it eats into automaker’s sales of their larger ICE pickups. If Tesla Made the Cybertruck Maverick sized with a stressed aluminum body I don’t doubt in the slightest that they could make it more capable in payload and towing than the Maverick, and prove that Small pickups can be more capable than their obese modern ICE Truck cousins.
So if the cybertruck was something functional, more like this- https://www.telotrucks.com/, instead of what looks like giant melting poop emoji, maybe they could actually sell it for a decent price, and have way more sales?
I just can’t say this enough. Ketamine. When a CEO publicly says they have a prescription for a drug like that, something has gone very wrong.
I always assume most filthy rich types are on their mega yachts banging large teams of high end prostitutes (male or female) while snorting pounds of cola, meth, ecstasy, and other assorted drugs, but that they have the good sense to keep it a secret. When they start telling you what they are doing behind closed doors, that’s a very bad sign.
One word I’ve been trying to spread is that I wish Musk would stop being associated with ketamine, because as someone that has run the entire gamut of treatments for depression from Zoloft to electro-convulsive therapy, ketamine was a source of hope for little while.
It ultimately did absolutely nothing for me but it has helped some people in real ways. I legitimately would not begrudge him or anyone to use it as treatment, but it just seems like the discourse begins and ends with “Musk’s latest ketamine addled exploit….”
You make an excellent and fair point with which I ultimately agree. I also apologize to you and any others because I know exactly how you feel. Depression is the bane of existence. I’ve suffered bouts and ideation for most of my life. Fortunately, I’ve finally landed upon Fluox and Bupropion as a really effective treatment. I recommend trying to just about any sufferer.
However, I still hate Elon and all his bullshit. He has become a detriment to civilization and I think substance abuse has a lot to do with that. Not that I have anything whatsoever against substance abuse, as I have enjoyed it more than once myself, it’s just that when you’re addled by those substances you need to check yourself, which he is clearly not doing. Needled threaded…?
Thanks for reinforcing that civility is still a thing that exists. Bupropion changed my life, so I hope you continued wellness and health.
I wish we could separate Elon from everything people associate him with that other folks in society might benefit from (ketamine as y’all brought up is a perfect example). Except billionaires. He’s a perfect billionaire and why I believe that the true solution to America’s long term economic stability is to create a large unionized workforce heading up our new, robust guillotine manufacturing sector.
Fallbeils are far more efficient.
The whole thing’s a mess…
It is a bit anecdotal, but where I live is balls-deep in Trump country. I mean flags on houses/boats/landscaping equipment, balls deep. There are Teslas everywhere. Not a day goes by that I don’t see at least 3 on the road, and 4 more charging. This is also a pretty wealthy area.
So, in my world, the premise that only liberals by EVs is not true, nor is the idea that Trump supporters are not rich. Around here, the money is circulating just fine. Wine from Capastrano fine…
Seeing 7 Teslas a day =/= Teslas everywhere.
Not sure the Bud Light analogy is all that great. There would have to be some sort of actual concerted effort on the part of some group to cast broad aspersions on Tesla like the redhat crowd did on Bud Light, and that’s just not happening. The only person out there making Tesla look bad is Musk.
Well for the ‘bro’s’ they could offer competitive financing deals: say 400 per month for 20 years.
A guy I know at work put down a deposit and got a notice that it’s his turn to take one home. The catch is that the only trim level being offered to him is the Founders Edition. He still wants to buy one, but he doesn’t have that kinda money. He wants a base level, but even the price of what is sold now as “Base” is getting out of his price range. They told him the “Base” trim won’t be available till sometime next Summer, maybe.
Tell him to buy a used one in a year or two. Depreciation is bad for all EVs. It could be catastrophic for one that doesn’t appear to be very popular.
I’m not interested in a Cybertruck (the way the doors open is a deal breaker), but I think they could be solid deals in the used market.
Ready right after infrastructure week
It appears from socials that a surprisingly high percentage of these get in crashes, or wind up in the service lot waiting warranty repair. Since Musk does design and prototype in-house but outsources reliability growth to the customer, early adopters need to expect frequent unscheduled downtime. For anyone wanting to use this as a real truck, rather than a weekend funster, that’s not a strong selling point.
The hyperbole and over the top, borderline insane reactions to this vehicle on both sides has been one of the most annoying things I can recall experiencing online in recent years.
It’s a somewhat silly novelty vehicle with some decent-ish capabilities. It was not handed down from on high by the lord God himself, nor is it indicative of the complete downfall of civilization, either.
It’s okay to just simply dislike them, and it’s also okay to think they’re kind of neat without needing to explain yourself further. Nuance, friends.
I like the design the same way I like Robocop’s armour, nice to look at in a brutalist way, but I wouldn’t get one myself for obvious reasons.
P.S. how do you feel about it, since it also Was Only in Development for 4 Years?
I think they’re kind of fun and weird, and I honestly don’t mind seeing them around. I would never buy one myself, but I’m glad they exist.
Tesla doesn’t have a PR department anymore.
That’s shocking, as in not as all shocking… I mean, how does a PR dept. compete with a firehose of bad PR?
“How many ordered for the lulz?” he asks.
Maybe a bunch? The better question is how many backed out when the price ballooned and the dates kept sliding?
I don’t root for Tesla’s failure, I root for Elon to shut up and let car people handle car stuff. He thinks he’s Tony Stark when he’s Dunning Kruger. If he sat back and just holed up in his Volcano lair, Tesla, Boring and Space X would be so much better off and far more successful. I mean this is the guy who’s suing advertisers that left “X” when he literally told them to “$%^& off, was that clear enough?”.
I’ve compared him to alternate history Tony Stark if he was never abducted by the Ten Rings…
I was thinking about that alternate.. The problem I had was that even pre-abduction Stark was a genius. He’s more like the MCU’s Justin Hammer, lucky, probably crooked, and living off government contracts.
Good point, I’ll allow it…
Sucking at the teat of the federal government and telling everyone he is a genius, and whoever up above said they are glad that they exist? I mean I feel that way when I see a Ferrari, or some crazed Lamborghini in vibrant green, but the Early 70’s sci-fi mobile? WTF. Never