The Tesla Cybertruck has to be ranked among the greatest vehicular flops of all time. The first production examples weren’t delivered until almost 2024 – in November of 2023 – and here it is only 2026 and Elon just pulled the plug. That’s about a two-year production run and during that time, about 70,000 of the got sold (whole fleets to Elon’s SpaceX grift, which is his way of getting the taxpayers to pay for them).
Who could have predicted this?
It’s such a good-looking thing, for one. Practical, too. It has a “bed” that isn’t useful for carrying things and a tow rating that’s only viable if you don’t need to tow very far. Some say it looks “futuristic” – and in a way, it does. It looks like the future depicted by Ridley Scott in the original Blade Runner, which came out in 1982. Today, it just looks dystopian. It is deliberately ugly in a brutalist way. It has been compared – accurately – to a dumpster. It has certainly been a dumpster fire for Tesla. In comparison, the Pontiac Aztec was a smash hit. About 120,000 of them were sold over five years.
The thing is, does Tesla – does Elon – care?
Maybe the Cybertruck was never meant to actually sell, except as a curiosity. Maybe other Tesla models were never meant to sell, either – except insofar as selling the public on electric cars. Both the Model S and the Model X have been cancelled; the Model 3 and the Model Y have yet to be significantly updated. The Model 3 is one of the oldest new vehicles on the market. The current (2026) model is basically the same as the 2017 model, the year this model made its debut. This is unusual because most vehicles get a significant refresh about every four years and a complete makeover long before they reach ten. There’s nothing much new or even interesting about the Model 3 anymore. It’s just one of many electric cars now – as opposed to being one of just a few electric cars back in 2017. It begs the question: Why hasn’t Tesla updated it – or the Model Y? Why did it not update its flagship Model S either? Tesla no longer has a top-of-the-line model, which is odd for a company that is supposedly wanting to be a major player in the car business.
Maybe not, though.
Maybe that was never the plan. Maybe the plan is the one Elon has been telling us all about lately, which is to sell Cybercabs – i.e., robo-taxis – rather than cars. The Cybercab is a car you rent to ride in. It is fully “autonomous,” to use the Orwellian language that distorts the truth about almost everything. When people hear “autonomous,” they think independent, as in on your own, under your own control. The Cybercab is the antithesis of both. It is a software-controlled, Hive Mind connected device. It operates in accordance with the Hive Mind’s directives rather than any individual wishes and – unlike other Tesla vehicles so far – there isn’t even the pretense of anyone driving.
It is driven. Just not by people. Well, not by people in the Cybercab.
“As Tesla grows,” Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering Lars Moravy explained, “we’ll mainly deliver fully designed autonomous vehicles to our customers and Cybercabs will be the first. We’re trying to get Cybercabs to customers by the end of this year – 2026. As we start small this year, and we learn . . . about delivery and ownership and fleet management of autonomous vehicles in customer hands, we’ll continue to scale that.”
The “customers” Moravy speaks of are not individual owners. The Cybercab’s customers will be fleet operators who sell rides – and don’t employ drivers. The interior of this “autonomous” device has a large screen but no steering wheel.
Tesla’s head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, says that the company “plans to deploy Cybercabs as fast as they can produce them” and that it is “one of the easiest products to scale in terms of manufacturing . . . I think the key thing which we are trying to make sure is that we have all the regulatory approvals where we can start deploying the Cybercabs as fast as we can produce them.”
Behold the aim all along – which was to get people out of vehicles by using electric vehicles to get them used to devices rather than vehicles. Note that one of Tesla’s great talking points has been its “self-driving” capability. Well, why bother with owning a car you don’t drive? It’s kind of like owning a house you don’t actually live in but maybe stay in sometimes. Why bother with that when you could just a rent a room when you need a place to stay?
Maybe some like that idea. Especially if it’s a nice room. Maybe some like the idea of not having to deal with a car, including finding a spot to park it. It just drops them off and whenever they need it again, just tap the app to summon another. It sounds benevolent, assuming you believe that ceding control over your ability to go places farther than you can walk to a centralized technocracy managed by corporations run by billionaires is benevolent. 
The best part – for Tesla – is that it’s a continuous revenue stream and more than just one. When an individual buys a Tesla, the revenue stream is singular – and only for as long as it takes to pay the device off. There are multiple revenue streams with a Cybercab that people (plural) pay to be ferried around in and which they never stop paying for, so long as they need to be ferried around.
The Cybercab is also probably the Mark II iteration of what the original Teslas were in that its purpose is to normalize something new. This time around, it’s not battery-powered devices.
It is driverless devices.
. . .
If you like what you’ve found here please consider supporting EPautos.
We depend on you to keep the wheels turning!
Our donate button is here.
If you prefer not to use PayPal, our mailing address is: EPautos 721 Hummingbird Lane SE Copper Hill, VA 24079
Last month I took a ride in a Waymo taxi. Can’t complain, but it wasn’t “the future.”
https://gvaviation.substack.com/p/i-aint-got-nobody?r=22l02x&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
As long as these companies (or municipalities) are defining the area of operations they’re not going to be more than a niche product. Kind of like the monorail system at Disney World, it isn’t likely to scale in the same way that the automobile did. When we drive in unfamiliar areas we cope. I have the feeling that when presented with a new neighborhood that’s not been properly mapped and modeled and optimized these things will just freeze. They’re living in a “small world problem,” but pretending that it isn’t. Tesla seems like they’re a little further along with their autopilot, but it absolutely requires a human driver to maintain awareness.
When I can leave my house at 9:00pm, sleep for 8 hours and wake up in another state, that’s when I’ll be interested. Or at least get a ride to the airport.
Hey Eric –
There’s Musk apologists that defend Musk to the death. Can explain away every outlandish proclamation made by Musk that doesn’t come to pass, by some other feat that he has accomplished, through grifting or otherwise. I believe many would follow Musk to the jungles of Guyana, sipping spiked Kool Aid to the death, if instructed to do so.
A recent response I heard from such a disciple;
“The CyberTruck was a halo vehicle that brought tons and tons of attention and recognization to the TESLA. Brands kill for that halo even if taking losses on that particular model.”
They likened the Cyber truck to what Chrysler did with the Dodge Viper. Think vanity project.
First of all, Musk originally envisioned production #’s on his Cyber Thing hitting 250K. That’s hardly a halo vehicle. Second of all, money spent on Cyber’s small production #’s would have been much better spent on a new mass appeal model or current model refresh.
Telsa, and by extension all EV’s, is really religion to a lot of these people. And like a pozi scheme about to go off the rails, right before the Cyber Cab is announced to keep “the thing” going.
Cheers!! Bottoms up with the Kool Aid!
Amen, TJ!
It’s fascinating the way people – conservatives – who disliked Musk during the Biden Era did a parking brake 180 and decided to like him when he became an ally of Trump’s. If anything, that pairing ought to have been a warning. Musk is both a rent-seeking grifter and a technocrat. The latter is especially troubling, or ought to be. But many conservatives bought his “free speech” bullshit. They do seem to be coming around lately, though.
In his speech at the launch event for the Cybercab on the Warner backlot, Musk talked about owners tending “flocks” (his word) of the autonomous vehicles. Think shepherd.
When we were in Downtown Nashville two weeks ago, the streets at night on weekends were choked with Uber/Lyft vehicles with KY plates, most likely owned/driven by service people out of Fort Campbell trying to scape out some extra cash.
My guess is that is who Musk envisions as his shepherds. The military people have the spare cash and trained deference to a single authority.
I’m calling it – the “Eric Peters effect”:
Toyota Motor has recognized this growing niche in the US truck market and announced Tuesday that it plans to begin making an “ultra-compact utility truck” at its Indiana plant.
Local outlet Courier & Press reports:
Toyota Motor North America on Tuesday announced it would add a production line to its Gibson County, Indiana, plant in 2027, a $34 million investment that will generate some 50 new jobs.
But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the announcement is the type of vehicle Toyota plans to roll off that new assembly line. It will be the first vehicle in the reimagined “Scion by Toyota” brand: An ultra-compact utility truck that meets American standards for low-speed vehicles, or LSVs.
The truck, officially called the KEI-01, will begin production in the second half of 2027.
In my not so humble opinion, based on “wave repeats, the inflation of the 1970s is starting to repeat – inflation and interest rates are both going up just like the 1970s – and what also happened was a big demand for fuel efficient vehicles which peaked out around 1982 – continued into the 1990s with the Geo Metro.
Toyota is usually right, if I was Honda/Nissan/mitsu I would be trying to copy ASAP
It’s a start, Jack –
But why not just a reboot of the small, affordable – and highway viable small trucks they all used to sell? If Nissan were to reboot the Frontier I am driving right now and sell it for under $20k it would sell like rubbers at the Bunny Ranch. Some dissenters will say it is not possible to sell a compact pick-up for under $20k. Then why are they available in Japan and Mexico?
Howdy Folks,
Ya’ll might find it instructive to consider that Musk spent half a $billion in support of Republican candidates all of whom lost to cretins only slightly less ridiculous than an armadillo. The people that still consider Musk a genius probably still consider Trump mentally viable. Such people are wrapped up in ideologies that defy rationality…..essentially unworthy of your respect.
The new Governor Elect of Texas has already promised a freeze on utility rates and lifting of state gas/diesel taxes on Day One of her administration.
The title of this article immediately reminded me of a 1993 country song by Beck:
“You came, you went
My mind it got a dent
I couldn’t make my rent
Cos all my cash was lent”
Head of (((AI))), Ashok pajeet, says no more white peeps driving with AI(Additional Indians/Isrealis/Idiots) ….
You’ll only be cargo!!
Hmmm, starting to sounds lots more like Agenda 2030….
“you’ll own nothing….and be happy”,
right out in the open now…
Don’t buy the (((Elon muskmobile))), even used.
Only use ICE vehicles….
Use cash as much as possible…
Become ungovernable…
Become like Vlad the Impaler…
Oy Vey!!!
YMMV….
>Eric A Taub
One translating dictionary lists the following English meanings for “taub”
barren
blind
deaf
empty
numb
As I explain to my kids, in a just and rational society, such an abomination, like other manifestations of fiat-money-induced malinvestment, would never have seen the light of day.
>Maybe some like the idea of not having to deal with a car, including finding a spot to park it. It just drops them off and whenever they need it again, just tap the app to summon another
It is all part of the process of “coping” with “inflation” (i.e. debased currency) by selling goods and services in smaller packages, while charging more per unit.
Type A grift is to shrink the package size and keep the price the same. So, we end up with odd package sizes, such as 14.5 oz cans of beans instead of 16 oz. But this poses the problem of having to continually “re-design” the packaging as currency debasement rages.
As the currency debasement accelerates (increase in 2nd derivative), Type A grift will ultimately fail, because it will become impossible to produce “re-designed” smaller. odd sized packages fast enough to keep up with the rate of currency debasement.
Type B grift is to sell the product in smaller packages, while increasing the unit price. I’ve seen Type B grift localiy in everything from food storage bags to over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. Suddenly, the 500 count package no longer exists, and the replacement 200 count package is marketed as the “large” size, with a concomitant increase in price per unit. “Marketers” are betting most people will not do the simple 2/5 comparison, and just buy 2 (or 3) of the “new” large size. If you actually count the bags, or pills, and buy 3 packeges, they can report a “sales increase” for this month.
Next thing may be to sell eggs by the half dozen, and butter by the quarter pound. Not possible to sell 10.9 eggs, so a “workaround” must be found. Grandma’s cookie recipe calls for a quarter pound of butter and 2 or 3 eggs. Peddling bogus quantites wil not sit well with people who actually measure things.
Same principle applies to transportation. The “marketing geniuses” have figured out that if they can sell you “transportation by the mile” they can charge a hell of a lot more money for it. After all, it’s “only” a $43 Uber (or Robotaxi) to get you to the airport, and you save the airport parking fees. Who needs a $70,000 Muskmobile parked in the driiveway (assuming you even *have* a driveway) when you only need transportation every now and then.
For everything else, you can use an electric bicycle, or electric scooter. Run silent, run cheap.
Worked example:
CVS Pharmacy where I live (ZIP code 92882) will sell you:
100 tablets aspirin 325 mg for $4.49 (standard dose)
(100)(325)/$4.49 = (32,500 mg)/$4.49 = 7238 mg/$
CVS also sells aspirin in 81 mg tablets (“low dose”)
365 tablets aspirin 81 mg for $12.99
(365)(81)/$12.99 = (29,565 mg)/$12.99 = 2276 mg/$
cost per mg:
(7238)/(2276) = 3.18 times more expensive for the “low dose”
(81 mg)(4) = 324 mg
Put another way, 365 “low dose” tablets buys you 91.25 standard dose tablets, for 3 times the price.
The “marketing pitch” is to advertise price per tablet, ($0.036/tab for low dose, $0.046/tab for standard dose), and tout the 365 tabs of “low dose” as the “value size”.
In the Before Time, CVS labeled 500 tabs of 325 mg aspirin the “value size”. I have a not yet empty bottle at my side.
Bill Hicks got it right, many years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h9wStdPkQY
(AI) [Prices from Walmart] Walmart’s store-brand (Equate) low-dose aspirin (81 mg) ranges in price from $1.37 to $7.00, depending entirely on the bottle size and style you choose.
A direct breakdown of the current pricing for Equate low-dose aspirin includes:
Safety Coated (Enteric) Tablets
• 60-Count Bottle: $1.37 (approx. 2.3¢/count)
• 120-Count Bottle: $2.67 to $2.94 (approx. 2.2¢–2.5¢/count)
• 300-Count Bottle: $5.68 (approx. 1.9¢/count)
• 500-Count Bottle (or 2×250 Twin Pack): $6.37 to $7.00 (approx. 1.3¢–1.4¢/count)
Chewable Tablets (Orange or Cherry)
• 108-Count (3-pack of 36): $2.88 to $3.17
_____________________________
Target: Target low-dose (81 mg) aspirin prices range from $2.79 to $11.79, depending on the brand and count:
• up&up™ Low-Dose Aspirin Tablets (120 count): $2.79 ($0.02 per tablet)
• up&up™ Chewable Orange Aspirin (108 count): $2.99 ($0.03 per count)
• Bayer Low Dose Regimen Coated Tablets: $6.99 – $15.29
• Bayer Low Dose Chewable Orange (108 count): $7.99 ($0.07 per count)
• GeriCare Low Dose Enteric Coated (120 count): $8.84
• St. Joseph Low-Dose Aspirin Tablets (120 count): $11.79
____________________
CVS [prices from Instacart] CVS Health Low Dose Aspirin (81 mg) typically ranges from $10.59 to $13.99, depending on the tablet count and bottle size. Pricing options for the enteric-coated variety generally scale as follows:
• 120 Count: ~$10.59
• 200 Count / 300 Count: ~$13.99 (frequently eligible for “Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off” promotions)
Note: In-store prices can vary by location, and smaller counts (like 32-count travel packs) or chewable orange versions may have slightly different pricing structures. [source CVS]
I’m going to go against the grain here, but the Cybertruck was the greatest vehicle of all time.
One million raccoons can’t be wrong.
https://autos.yahoo.com/racoons-mistake-cybertruck-trash-123000087.html
Public devices will be just like public restrooms. You arent going to want to sit down. And just imagine the smell. What an utopia!
Sunday morning will be the wrong time to hail an autonomous vehicle for certain. But the manufacturers will adapt. Instead of Waymo Jaguars, with push seats and pretty displays, they will morph into city bus-style interiors with hard plastic seats, rubberized floors and plexiglass on screens -which will play ads incessantly. And they’ll be cut and scratched with graffiti, because tagging is how you tell your rivals that you’ve claimed it as your own.
I’ve always found the Tesla Cybertrucks to be ugly. Not only were they ugly, the Cybertrucks have also had all sorts of problems when it was in production. Why anyone bought such an ugly, problem plagued vehicle is beyond me……
https://rumble.com/v4rhb85-tesla-cybertruck-is-a-disaster
I’ll pass on being in a driverless taxi. I trust a horses’ instincts with my life near a cliff more. The only driverless vehicle I am OK with is trains, like the airport ones between terminals or the parking lot, but even then, on a long haul I want a person somewhere in control.
The Cybertruck served its purpose of setting a new pricing floor for the half ton pickup class at $40k for even a “stripped” model.
Only Show Ya types really wanted to drive one of those disasters.
I can tell you who *didn’t* buy a Muskmobile wheelie bin.
1. Skilled tradeszmen.
2. Construction contractors.
Disregarding the rather odd “cyber” desidnation (which appears to mean absolutely nothing), this vehicle is simply not fit for purpose for anyone who needs to actually haul stuff.
So, aside from SpaceX, who actually bought these bad jokes? I’ve seen one or two with really expensive after market paint jobs, which suggests “vanity project for rich people”.
Others have suggested “rolling billboards” for real estate brokers and ambualnce chasing attorneys (tax writeoffs!), but who really knows?
And how ’bout them tires, eh? Tire spec and cost?
https://tinyurl.com/muyuwxbu
Hi Adi,
I see one driving around my neighborhood occasionally, can’t really see who’s driving it but guessing it’s some tech bro who works in Kendall Square and thinks it makes him special.
LOL.
No doubt. 🙂
The ones around here are mostly businesses vehicles like you mention, painted or wrapped with graphics. I bet they’re actually a decent office car for a realtor or for an contractor quote/saleman. Leave it plugged in overnight at the office so you don’t have to worry about a company gas card and it’s going to stand out running around from site to site. It’s the automotive equivalent of “I don’t care what you say about me just spell me name right.” Love it or hate it if you see Joe’s Painting on the side you’re probably going to notice it.
All but a few of the ones I see around here are wrapped with garnish color graphics for some service company or other. DK how effective it is, but it does get your attention.
Just like those billboard trucks that crawl Las Vegas Blvd.
Virtually no one is buying the Khazarmobiles or the Chabadwagons. Oy vey!
Tesla – a company that’s spent 23 years failing to develop technology that can compete with the performance of a tank and a pump, yet is led by a guy who dreams of taking humanity to Mars…
Missed out on owning a Cybertruck? Never mind, you can rent one! And the Lügenpresse is here to help:
A First-Timer’s Guide to Renting an Electric Vehicle
Here’s what you need to know about booking, driving and charging an EeeVee if you travel plans include a getaway from gasoline powered engines. — NYT, Nov 10, 2026
Savor the delusions of pencil-necked leftist scribblers. ‘Eric A Taub’ got paid to write this drivel.
You can also hire a wilderness backpacking guide if your plans include ‘a getaway from electricity and running water.’ Or a death doula, if your plans include ‘a getaway from this mortal coil.’ WTF?
Death to the freaking Lügenpresse.
My one-word guide is renting an EeeeeVeeeee: Don’t.