Tesla plans to refund deposits to numerous Cybertruck reservation holders as the company prepares to discontinue pickup production.
CEO Elon Musk said Tesla cannot fulfill every pending order before the assembly line closes next year.
The decision comes as the automaker shifts factory resources toward expanding production of its Cybercab robotaxi. However, Tesla has yet to explain how it will determine which customers receive vehicles or refunds.
Tesla Faces Cybertruck Order Backlog Before Shutdown
In a November 9 post on X, Musk confirmed that Tesla would return deposits for customers whose Cybertruck orders remain unfulfilled.
Musk said Cybertruck orders continue to outpace Tesla’s manufacturing capacity. Consequently, the company plans to produce as many vehicles as possible before closing the assembly line.
However, Musk acknowledged that Tesla would not complete every outstanding reservation within the remaining production window.
The CEO estimated that Cybertruck manufacturing would continue for approximately eight more months. That timeline places the expected shutdown around July 2027.
Musk’s announcement follows his November 6 comments about ending Cybertruck production at Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas facility in Austin.
The factory currently serves as Tesla’s only production site for the Cybercab, its two-seat autonomous taxi. Tesla intends to redirect manufacturing space toward increasing Cybercab output.
Musk argued that expanding Cybercab production offers greater value than maintaining the complex Cybertruck assembly process.
Musk Rejects Claims That Cybertruck Production Is Unprofitable
Musk also disputed reports suggesting Tesla plans to discontinue Cybertruck production because the vehicle loses money.
Instead, he attributed the decision to the manufacturing complexity of Cybertruck and the company’s competing production priorities.
According to Musk, Tesla expects greater returns from allocating additional factory capacity to Cybercab manufacturing.
However, the CEO provided no financial figures supporting his explanation.
Tesla’s third-quarter 2026 earnings report included Cybertruck within its broader “other models” vehicle category. The company did not disclose separate revenue or profit figures for the pickup.
As a result, publicly available financial disclosures cannot establish whether Cybertruck production generates a profit.
Tesla began delivering Cybertrucks to customers in late 2023, approximately four years after introducing the electric pickup in November 2019.
The planned shutdown would therefore end production less than four years after customer deliveries began.
Tesla Cybertruck Refund Process Remains Unclear
Tesla has not announced how it will prioritize outstanding Cybertruck orders before the production line closes.
Customers still lack confirmation about whether reservation dates, vehicle configurations, or geographic locations will determine their eligibility.
Meanwhile, Tesla has already initiated a separate refund process for Cybertruck reservation holders in Australia and New Zealand.
On October 23, the company informed customers in both countries that it would no longer offer the vehicle locally.
Tesla promised to return their deposits within 30 days. Some customers had paid A$150 to reserve Cybertrucks following the November 2019 unveiling.
However, Musk’s latest announcement concerns a broader group of reservation holders awaiting delivery.
His X statement did not constitute a formal customer notification or provide instructions for requesting refunds.
Tesla has not confirmed when affected customers will receive their money or how the company will communicate individual decisions.
For now, reservation holders await further clarification through Tesla’s official customer accounts and ordering channels.
