Tesla suspends orders for $61,000 Cybertruck, cheapest version now $100,000

Tesla has stopped taking orders for the cheapest model of its Cybertruck electric pickup, which was priced at $61,000. Now, its $100,000 version is the cheapest model available to order on the automaker’s website.

Consumers and investors have been closely monitoring supply and demand for Tesla’s Cybertruck after CEO Elon Musk invested heavily in the electric truck line in recent years with a goal of producing 200,000 a year.

Elon Musk said last fall that Tesla had 1 million reservations for the truck. Some customers said they were waiting for cheaper versions to become available because its prices are higher and its range is lower than originally expected.

The Cybertruck, a futuristic and unconventional vehicle, was first unveiled as a prototype by Elon Musk in 2019. He estimated at the time that it would cost $40,000 and could travel 500 miles on a single charge. Interested buyers could place a reservation with a refundable $100 deposit to secure their truck once deliveries began after lengthy delays that pushed the date back to late November 2023.

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Tesla’s website no longer offers potential buyers the option to reserve a $61,000 version of the Cybertruck, which was offered with a 250-mile range and a scheduled delivery date of 2025.

The company currently offers a limited-edition, dual-motor Foundation model, priced at $99,990 and offering a range of 320 miles, with delivery estimated as early as this month. The three-motor Foundation Cyberbeast variant, priced at $119,990 and offering a range of 300 miles, will be available starting in October.

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Sam Abuelsamid, an analyst at Guidehouse Insights, told Reuters that Tesla’s move “shows that demand is well below a million trucks,” adding: “They have a significant inventory of dual- and triple-motor trucks right now.”

Deliveries of the Cybertruck, which features a trapezoidal exterior design inspired by the “Bladerunner” movie and a stainless steel body, began in November 2023 after years of delays and a difficult production ramp-up.

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The first production candidate, the Cybertruck, was completed in July 2023, about four years after Musk announced Tesla’s plans to make the truck and two years after production was originally planned to begin.

Musk said in 2022 that supply chain shortages were affecting component supplies and contributing to production delays.

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Reuters contributed to this report.