Tesla to refund Cybertruck deposits as production winds down
Words: Kyle Cassidy
Tesla will have to refund deposits to many Cybertruck buyers who are still waiting for their pickups, chief executive Elon Musk says. It’s claimed that orders are coming in faster than Tesla can build them, with the Texas production line due to shut down in mid-2027.
Musk said Tesla would add a production shift to fill as many orders as possible before the line closes. Even with the extra shift, the company “will have to return deposits for a lot of people”, he wrote on X. His post gave no refund timetable or estimate of how many buyers would miss out.
New Zealand and Australian reservation holders were already told in October that Tesla had cancelled plans to sell the Cybertruck in both markets. The company told those customers it would refund their deposits in full within 30 days.
The late rush for orders follows a much slower sales run than Musk had forecast. He once suggested Tesla could build 250,000 Cybertrucks a year, but Motor1 reports about 71,000 have been sold since deliveries began in late 2023. Kelley Blue Book estimates US sales fell 48 per cent in 2025 to 20,237.
Price was another big departure from the original pitch. Tesla announced a US$39,900 starting price at the 2019 unveiling, but that version never made it to market. With orders for the base model now paused, the cheapest version US buyers can order is the Premium AWD at US$92,490, according to Electrek.
Tesla plans to use the factory capacity to build more Cybercabs. Musk said building the Cybertruck was complex and that Tesla saw more value in increasing output of the two-seat robotaxi, which has neither a steering wheel nor pedals. The move follows Tesla’s decision to drop the Model S and Model X.
