Tesla’s electric pickup, the Cybertruck, is quickly losing its early excitement. Less than two years after its launch, resale values have fallen sharply. Tesla’s own trade-in offers are much lower than many owners expected, signaling trouble for the once-hyped vehicle.
Owners of the premium “Foundation Series” models face large losses. These trucks originally sold for about $100,000. Now, Tesla is offering trade-in prices between $60,000 and $65,000 even for vehicles with low mileage. The high-end “Cyberbeast,” which cost $127,000 new, has trade-in offers as low as $78,200. Tesla is providing a limited-time offer to transfer the “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” feature to a new Tesla at no cost, but this does little to make up for the value loss.
The private resale market is also struggling. Listings on sites like Car Gurus show prices slightly higher than Tesla’s trade-in offers. Still, demand is weak, and many Cybertrucks remain unsold. This kind of steep depreciation is rare for Tesla, a brand known for holding strong resale values.
The Cybertruck’s bold design and rugged look attracted attention. However, buyers have raised concerns about its practicality and build quality. Several recalls have been issued. Elon Musk’s political views have also polarized some customers, affecting the vehicle’s appeal.
Tesla is now facing a large inventory of unsold Cybertrucks worth hundreds of millions of dollars. With cooling demand, the company plans another production halt. In the U.S., the Ford F-150 Lightning has surpassed the Cybertruck as the top-selling electric pickup.
Elon Musk has promised to refocus on Tesla after facing issues with his social media platform X. Whether this renewed focus will help the Cybertruck recover is still unknown. For now, the Cybertruck represents a gap between Tesla’s ambitions and market reality.