Musk plans to cut Cybertruck production in Texas near mid-2027 to make room for Cybercab
Key Facts
Elon Musk said on November 6 that Tesla will cut Cybertruck production at its Texas factory near mid-2027 to make room for increased Cybercab production. The announcement did not specify the size or pace of the cut, leaving the scope of the factory capacity reallocation undisclosed. The decision comes as estimated truck sales continue to decline and Tesla expands its robotaxi operations. The change will shift part of the production space to Cybercab, which was launched as part of Robotaxi operations in September 2026. The plan remains tied to demand for the service and regulatory approvals for the vehicle.
According to Kelley Blue Book estimates cited by the Associated Press, estimated Cybertruck sales fell 28% in the first nine months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. This follows a decline in estimated U.S. truck sales in 2025 compared with 2024, according to Kelley Blue Book estimates. Musk had earlier forecast annual sales of 250,000 trucks, a previous projection that is not a publicly announced target under the current production-cut decision. Tesla does not break out sales by model, so Cybertruck figures remain estimates rather than direct company sales data. The continued decline through the end of September puts the decision to allocate more space to Cybercab in the context of weak truck sales.
In its overall results, Tesla reported production of 464,391 vehicles and deliveries of 486,532 vehicles in the third quarter of 2026. Those figures cover the company’s entire fleet and do not specify the number of Cybertrucks produced or delivered during the period. The quarterly results therefore do not quantify how much truck production the company will give up when the cut begins. Tesla said Cybercab, meanwhile, was launched as part of its Robotaxi operations in September, as it seeks to develop a service-based business model using its autonomous-driving products. Allocating factory space to the new vehicle gives production priority to that effort, while the expected scale of the expansion remains unspecified in Musk’s announcement.
Cybercab’s expansion faces regulatory scrutiny in the United States: on September 4, 2026, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it had opened an audit inquiry into Tesla’s certification of the vehicle’s compliance with federal safety standards. The agency said current standards remain in effect until the audit is complete. This makes the vehicle’s certification process one of the factors surrounding the expansion of its use and production. In Texas operations, Reuters reported that about 570 of more than 1,200 Robotaxi vehicles were Cybercabs, while most of the rest were Model Y vehicles. The figure offers a snapshot of the operating fleet ahead of the plan to increase Cybercab production, without specifying Tesla’s later target fleet size.
Tesla shares closed at $343.69 on November 5, then at $358.22 on November 6, according to EL7 data. During the November 6 session, the stock was trading at $359.01, up 4.46% at 10:12 a.m. Eastern time, according to Investing.com; this was an intraday reading, not the closing price. In the broader market context, Reuters reported in an article published on November 5 that Musk’s companies were at risk of losing more than $380 billion in market value during election week. This relates to the general market backdrop, and the report does not attribute those losses to the Cybertruck announcement. Musk’s announcement did not specify a production-cut schedule or production level after mid-2027, while the safety inquiry remains open until the audit is complete, according to the agency.