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Shocking sales figures for the Tesla Cybertruck electric pickup truck for the third quarter of this year have been released, highlighting a deep crisis for one of the American manufacturer's most ambitious models. According to official reports, the company sold only 5,385 units of this model, a 63 percent decrease compared to the same period last year, when over 14,000 vehicles were sold. Total pickup sales since the beginning of the year have barely exceeded 16,000 units, which is especially depressing given Elon Musk's lofty claims about achieving annual sales of a quarter of a million units, a target that currently seems completely unattainable.
The reasons for such a sharp decline in Cybertruck sales are the subject of active discussion among industry analysts, who point to a whole range of problems. It is predicted that by the end of this year, total deliveries of this model will barely reach twenty thousand units, which is half the figure for the previous period, while other Tesla models, such as the Model 3 and Model Y, on the contrary, are showing increased consumer demand, largely due to the expiry of federal tax credits for electric vehicles in the United States. . This paradoxical situation, where one of the company's models is experiencing a boom while another is rapidly losing ground, clearly demonstrates the selectivity of the market and possible miscalculations in the Cybertruck's positioning strategy.
Moreover, against the backdrop of Tesla's stagnation, its direct competitors in the electric pickup segment are showing steady growth, which is ultimately undermining the American manufacturer's position. According to industry reports, sales of the Rivian R1T model increased by 13%, while the Ford F-150 Lightning showed growth of almost 40% and the GMC Hummer EV added almost 22%. Even the new Sierra EV model was able to demonstrate phenomenal growth of over 700 per cent, which is happening against the backdrop of an overall increase in electric vehicle sales in the US of almost 41 per cent on a quarterly basis. This dynamic clearly indicates that the Cybertruck's problems are not industry-wide but purely individual in nature.
An additional blow to the reputation of the problematic pickup truck was dealt by legal proceedings and information about so-called internal purchases. A high-profile lawsuit filed by the families of two people who died in an accident involving a Cybertruck, accusing the company of design flaws in the door handles that prevented people from getting out of the burning vehicle, seriously affected public perception of the model. At the same time, information emerged that Tesla had begun supplying unsold vehicles to other Elon Musk companies, such as SpaceX and xAI, in order to artificially maintain its statistics, where they were supposedly to replace an outdated fleet of internal combustion engine vehicles, which only confirms the depth of the problems with selling this model on the open market without the use of artificial incentives.
Against the backdrop of Tesla's difficulties, its global Chinese competitor BYD continues to strengthen its leading position in the global electric vehicle market. At the end of the first three quarters of 2025, the Chinese manufacturer managed to sell approximately 1.6 million electric vehicles, while the American company managed to sell only 1.218 million units. The gap between the two companies was just under 400,000 vehicles, which is clear evidence of a shift in the centre of gravity in the global automotive industry and points to new priorities in the global market, where Tesla is gradually losing its dominant role, giving way to more dynamic and adaptive manufacturers.