The Tesla Cybertruck was once expected to be a groundbreaking success, the kind of vehicle that would flood streets across America and push electric pickups into the mainstream. Optimists believed 2024 would see 250,000 units sold. Instead, reality has been far less flattering. Despite amassing over a million reservations at launch, the Cybertruck has stumbled into poor sales, weighed down by inflated prices and unmet promises.
The central issue is affordability. Elon Musk famously suggested the Cybertruck would be reasonably priced, but those early expectations have crumbled. With unsold trucks piling up in parking lots and neighborhoods, Tesla’s latest move seems almost counterintuitive: rather than lowering prices, the company has raised them. The most striking change is with the Cyberbeast, the flagship version of the truck. Previously listed at $99,990, it now comes in at $114,990. This $15,000 jump is startling at a time when Tesla’s sales across the board have been slowing. For buyers who have been patiently saving, the increase is nothing short of “bad news.”
To justify the hike, Tesla has introduced what it calls the Luxe Package. This bundle includes supervised Full Self-Driving capability, premium connectivity, and four years of premium service covering scheduled maintenance such as wheel alignments, tire rotations, windshield protection, wiper blade replacements, and HEPA filter changes. Perhaps the most enticing part of the package is complimentary Supercharging, which applies not only in the United States but also internationally. Even here, Tesla has added caveats: idling and congestion fees are not waived, and if the truck is used commercially, the free Supercharging benefit can be revoked.
Of course, the price of the Cyberbeast is not just about perks. The truck’s tri-motor all-wheel-drive system is the centerpiece, offering front and rear differentials along with torque vectoring at the rear. This allows the Cyberbeast to sprint from zero to sixty-two miles per hour in just 2.6 seconds, a figure that would put many sports cars to shame. Tesla has promoted this as “truly unreal performance,” and on a technical level, the claim holds up. Yet the question lingers: does such power truly warrant the cost?
The timing could hardly be worse. With the impending loss of federal tax credits for electric vehicles, the path to affordability is becoming even narrower. Tesla may hope the allure of speed and exclusivity will attract wealthier buyers, but that alone is unlikely to solve the company’s larger sales dilemma.
For now, the Cybertruck stands as a paradox: technologically impressive, boldly styled, yet weighed down by a price tag that pushes it further out of reach for the very customers it once promised to bring into the fold.