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Tesla scraps its cheapest Cybertruck after just five months – as it hurtles towards becoming one of the all-time biggest flops

Leon Poultney

15 September 2025

Cheap Cybertruck was supposed to boost sales, but it did the opposite

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Tesla)

Tesla removes the $70,000 Cybertruck from its configurator
With all of its most desirable assets stripped, it didn’t sell well
The divisive pick-up has had one of its slowest years to date

Tesla has removed the cheapest Cybertruck variant from its US-based online configurator, leaving just the All-Wheel-Drive and Cyberbeast models for sale.

Only launched less than five months ago, the Long Range, Rear-Wheel-Drive (RWD) option was priced at $69,990 (around £51,000 / AU$105,000), undercutting the rest of the range by $10,000.
The move was designed to increase uptake and boost floundering sales of the divisive pick-up, but the company’s decision to scrap it so soon appears to suggest it had the opposite effect.

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Even upon launch, many potential buyers poured scorn on the decision to release a cheaper option, stating that most of the desirable assets had been stripped away, while the financial savings weren’t great enough to make up for the compromise.

As a reminder, the RWD variant removed a motor, making it far less powerful than the All-Wheel-Drive and Cyberbeast models. Tesla also chose to remove the active air suspension and the popular power outlets in the bed, adding an awkward manual tonneau cover – as opposed to the motorized version – and tiny 18-inch wheels.
As is the way with updates to the Tesla model range, the Californian company chose to remove the cheapest Cybertruck quietly from its configurator.
Those logging on now will notice the $79,990 (without the $7,500 federal tax credit applied) All-Wheel Drive model is the entry into the range, with Cyberbeast costing $114,990.

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Tesla pushes upmarket as sales slide

(Image credit: Wiki)
The Cybertruck has had one of its worst years on record so far, logging just 4,306 units in the second quarter of 2025, according to Cox Automotive.
In 2024, Tesla recorded 39,000 sales, which made it the best-selling electric pick-up truck on sale in the US, but those figures have been sliding and this year, it has been bettered by the GMC Hummer EV and Ford F-150 Lightning, both of which are selling in relatively tiny numbers.
Whichever way you look at it, the numbers just don’t match the 250,000 units per year that the company originally stated it would produce, with Musk even suggesting that the company had the capacity to produce 500,000. I’m sure he’s glad he didn’t.

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What’s more, the US electric pick-up truck market as a whole is struggling, with Ram recently announcing that it has ditched plans to release its own EV, citing weak demand.
As Tesla sales take a hit across the line-up, the company has been slowly pushing prices of its more premium offerings up, with the Model S and Model X both receiving a mandatory Luxe Package that increased the sticker price by $10,000 earlier this year.
So perhaps the Cybertruck decision was made in line with this tactic – clearly setting its stool out as a premium product.
But where the stainless steel behemoth might have proven an instant PR and marketing success, snaring untold headlines and raising awareness of the brand way beyond early EV converts, it hasn’t lived up to the hype.
In fact, Tesla has only ever managed to sell just over 40,000 units of the vehicle in a single year when things were going well, and since then, the model itself has become a focal-point for anti-Tesla protest.
Throw into the mix the numerous recall issues, the axing of the range-extender battery pack and promise of inductive charging, and it feels like even Tesla has admitted defeat.
We have reached out to the company for comment, but have so far not had a response.
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Leon Poultney

EVs correspondent

Leon has been navigating a world where automotive and tech collide for almost 20 years, reporting on everything from in-car entertainment to robotised manufacturing plants. Currently, EVs are the focus of his attentions, but give it a few years and it will be electric vertical take-off and landing craft. Outside of work hours, he can be found tinkering with distinctly analogue motorcycles, because electric motors are no replacement for an old Honda inline four.

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The Tesla Cybertruck is officially a flop, but a smaller version could be en route – here are 5 things I think it needs

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