Tesla Cybertruck sales plummeted by nearly half last year, according to a study that determined 2025 was the second-best year on record for electronic vehicle sales in the U.S.
Cox Automotive, a data company that conducted the study, found that Elon Musk’s EV company sold 38,965 Cybertrucks in 2024. But Tesla only sold 20,237 of its “electric utility truck” in 2025, marking a 48% decrease.
Electric vehicles enjoyed a record-breaking third quarter in 2025 followed by an expected fourth-quarter decline blamed on the revocation of government-based sales incentives. Those incentives included a $7,500 tax credit that applied to vehicles including the Cybertruck, according to USA Today.
The long-awaited Cybertruck debuted to considerable hype in 2023 — four years after the vehicle was introduced as a prototype. Its release was delayed on more than one occasion.
The vehicle has also faced several recalls since it rolled off the assembly lines. Those defects included a faulty exterior trim panel that forced 46,000 models to be taken off the road in 2025, according to the New York Times. That was the Cybertruck’s eighth recall.
The polarizing vehicle with its unconventional design has become an effigy for political dissidents who take exception to Musk’s right-wing activism. Police said a Cybertruck was vandalized with a spray-painted swastika in Lower Manhattan in March. Weeks later, a Cybertruck was similarly trashed in Brooklyn.
A 2026 Car and Driver review praised the vehicle’s speed and drivability.
“Love it or hate it, the Tesla Cybertruck is an impressive piece of machinery,” the trade publication wrote.
Musk has said the Cybertruck was inspired by the futuristic 1982 Ridley Scott film “Blade Runner.”
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
