Electric vehicle giant Tesla Inc. TSLA and CEO Elon Musk had grand ambitions with the launch of the Cybertruck. Expectations have underperformed, but there could be good news with the vehicle expanding to more international markets.
What Happened: Tesla officially launched the Cybertruck in November 2023, and for the first two years, the vehicle was only sold in North America.
The electric vehicle company is now branching out to other parts of the world with the recent launch of the Cybertruck in South Korea and the upcoming launch in the Middle East.
Cybertruck deliveries are set to begin in the United Arab Emirates for reservation holders, with a wider public launch to follow soon.
Tesla said the public launch will be “in the coming weeks in the Middle East.” The company previously said it would sell the Cybertruck in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in April, as reported by Teslarati.
Consumers in other markets have been hoping for the Cybertruck to be released in additional places, but these are the only countries announced by Tesla to date.
The Cybertrucks sold in the Middle East will be exported from Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas, as the company’s Berlin and Shanghai Gigafactories, which traditionally export vehicles to the region, do not have dedicated Cybertruck production lines.
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Why It’s Important: Ahead of the North American launch of the Cybertruck, Tesla highlighted that it had over a million reservations for the vehicle.
Musk highlighted the company’s goal of an annual production capacity of 250,000 units per year and a goal of selling hundreds of thousands of units of the electric pickup truck.
The launch of the Cybertruck in North America may have been hurt by a higher price than originally estimated and by a lower range than many wanted or expected. Demand for the vehicle in recent months may also be hurt by the brand damage of Tesla and Musk due to his push into politics.
It will be interesting to see how demand for the Cybertruck develops in South Korea and the Middle East, regions that may not share the negative perceptions of Musk or the waning support seen in North America and Europe.
Musk hinted that a smaller Cybertruck could be launched in the future for international markets that have narrower roads. The recent international launches could be a test of how well the vehicle performs there and whether Tesla needs to make adjustments to the vehicle.
In the United States, Tesla sold 38,965 Cybertrucks in 2024, according to reports. This ranked fifth among all electric vehicles in the country for the year, but was well under estimates. In the first 14 months of availability, around 46,000 Cybertrucks were sold in the United States based on recall data.
Tesla has now fallen behind Ford Motor Company F and General Motors Company GM in the electric pickup truck market for the United States. The Cybertruck sold 4,306 units in the U.S. in the second quarter, lower than the 5,842 Ford F-150 Lightning units and 4,508 GMC Hummer EV units in the same time period.
The Cybertruck is pacing for annual sales of 10,000 to 25,000 units, or around a tenth of the planned 250,000 yearly production capacity.
Tesla shareholders will likely be hoping the Cybertruck gets another sign of life with new international markets, as demand in the United States dries up.
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