Cybertruck May Transition to Fully Autonomous Cargo Truck in Future, Says Musk

[georgek43]

I love my CT-

I love the FSD but I also love actually driving the vehicle. it’s a wonderful driving truck-smooth, great acceleration, goes anywhere, capable, great turning radius, and just fun to drive. That all seems to get lost in almost all discussions.

I’m more than a bit frustrated with Tesla and degradation of my ability to use FSD by premature autonomous speed management (I want the scroll wheel speed set back) but it’s still the most amazing vehicle I’ve ever owned.

I’m always reading about how Elon’s politics hurt sales, but I think sales are down far more because of chaotic management, lack of creature comforts and improvements in the vehicles (other than software) and lousy customer service (including an astoundingly arrogant deaf ear to owner feedback), which leads to an increasingly diminished ownership experience. Frustrated owners don’t help sales of new vehicles. Repeatedly setting inaccurate expectations for customers doesn’t help either. It’s not politics that is hurting Tesla; it’s self inflicted bad business practices.

Automotive history is littered with the corpses of dozens of great companies that failed and hundreds of amazing vehicles that went out of production due to bad management.

Robots and rockets are awesome for Elon and for our future but they’re not helping much with the automotive business, and that’s where we put our money when we bought CTs.

A CyberSUV- I’d buy that. A delivery van, ok, maybe there’s a market, but do not just build autonomous delivery vehicles. I believe a little smart thinking on sales and marketing, and better customer service after purchase would keep the CT going for years to come. I want future improved CTs that I can drive, not just memories of the golden age.

They’re dustbinning the S and X because of low profitability. Hope they wise up with support for the CT so we’re not next.

Just my opinion.

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[Spartacus]

The Cybertruck was the best selling EV truck in 2024, but not in 2025 (#2 behind Ford Lightning)

And competitors aren't leaving. Ford didn't cancel the Lightning, they are retooling to bring it back to market as an EREV. And new players -- like Ram, Slate, Scout, and Kia -- will enter the EV truck market in 2026-2027.

Ford should have built an EV from the ground up instead of inserting batteries and motors in the F150 ICE frame. Ford is giving up, regressing to the extra complexity and added parts of an engine and smaller batteries in this EREV. I for one remain skeptical of Ford EREV reliability until they prove it.

 

[vandytom]

Maybe with a cyber cap over the bed that turns it into a quasi transit van.

Nashville transpotainment for bachelorette’s

 

[YDR37]

Ford should have built an EV from the ground up instead of inserting batteries and motors in the F150 ICE frame. Ford is giving up, regressing to the extra complexity and added parts of an engine and smaller batteries in this EREV. I for one remain skeptical of Ford EREV reliability until they prove it.

The Ram 1500 REV currently has "projected availability 2026", so it will likely be the first EREV on the market, ahead of Ford. Claimed 690 mile range, 14,000 lbs towing, 2,265 lbs payload..

Skepticism is warranted. Personally I would be even more skeptical of a Stellantis product.

 

[CybertruckWraps]

 

[HaulingAss]

Automotive history is littered with the corpses of dozens of great companies that failed and hundreds of amazing vehicles that went out of production due to bad management.

Huh? As a rational pragmatic person I can only judge the effectiveness of management by looking at the results over the last 6 years (and more). I'm talking about things like capital efficiency, revenue growth, R&D results in robotics, rapid growth in energy storage and profit margins, AI compute growth, and the speed of building North America's first lithium refinery, using a lower cost, more environmentally state-of-the-art refining process developed in-house. Not to mention the Tesla Semi production facility coming on line shortly to crank out pure electric heavy trucks. None of this is easy. None of this is medium-hard. It's all extremely difficult stuff requiring a very high degree of correct decisions, higher than most people could hope to manage as illustrated by how superior Tesla's results have been when compared to other businesses operating in the same space. Tesla is like 12 start-up companies in one, and they have been self-funding for the last six years, growing a 44 billion dollar war chest to use on the latest technologies offering the most promising rates of return. I would expect a company making such heavy investments in the future, and operating in the difficult EV market, to be heavily in debt, not sitting on $44 billion in cash. How is that bad management?

It's nothing short of astounding, if you ask me. And this is not even Elon's only wildly successful company. He has a long history of superior capital efficiency, doing more with less and providing superior returns. Bad management? That's just a baffling take.

I think you are either talking about a company other than Tesla or you think Tesla exists primarily to satisfy your individual personal automotive wants. Tesla looks at the entire addressable market of the markets they participate in, not what outliers personally think they want. That's how Tesla has the best-selling car in the world for the last three years in a row and have quickly become a leading stationary energy storage provider with superior margins and operate the worlds largest and most reliable DCFC Network. Tesla is one of the last companies I would expect to fail, given the proven management with exceptional vision, strong financials and capitally efficient R&D spending in emerging fast-growing segments. Elon's timing at entering new markets is astounding.

Wait until you see the amazing ways that Optimus will leverage Tesla's real world AI expertise. Tesla, with the Semi, Robotaxi, grid scale energy storage, battery manufacturing, humanoid robots and AI learning is on the verge of blowing all their earlier accomplishments out of the water. I can think of no other CEO who could have led Tesla as effectively as Elon has.

If you don't like the way Tesla operates their automotive division, maybe you should try Rivian, LOL!

 

[Setok]

I love my CT-

I love the FSD but I also love actually driving the vehicle. it’s a wonderful driving truck-smooth, great acceleration, goes anywhere, capable, great turning radius, and just fun to drive. That all seems to get lost in almost all discussions.

I’m more than a bit frustrated with Tesla and degradation of my ability to use FSD by premature autonomous speed management (I want the scroll wheel speed set back) but it’s still the most amazing vehicle I’ve ever owned.

I’m always reading about how Elon’s politics hurt sales, but I think sales are down far more because of chaotic management, lack of creature comforts and improvements in the vehicles (other than software) and lousy customer service (including an astoundingly arrogant deaf ear to owner feedback), which leads to an increasingly diminished ownership experience. Frustrated owners don’t help sales of new vehicles. Repeatedly setting inaccurate expectations for customers doesn’t help either. It’s not politics that is hurting Tesla; it’s self inflicted bad business practices.

Automotive history is littered with the corpses of dozens of great companies that failed and hundreds of amazing vehicles that went out of production due to bad management.

Robots and rockets are awesome for Elon and for our future but they’re not helping much with the automotive business, and that’s where we put our money when we bought CTs.

A CyberSUV- I’d buy that. A delivery van, ok, maybe there’s a market, but do not just build autonomous delivery vehicles. I believe a little smart thinking on sales and marketing, and better customer service after purchase would keep the CT going for years to come. I want future improved CTs that I can drive, not just memories of the golden age.

They’re dustbinning the S and X because of low profitability. Hope they wise up with support for the CT so we’re not next.

Just my opinion.

While I get some of your sentiment, it is absolutely the case that Elon, his politics, and his actions have hurt sales here in Europe. I know *many* people who outright refuse to even look at Tesla. We can see that impact in the dramatic downturn of sales. It greatly impacts my view of Tesla as well.

Things were going so well too until the braguisation of Twitter.

 

[georgek43]

Huh? As a rational pragmatic person I can only judge the effectiveness of management by looking at the results over the last 6 years (and more). I'm talking about things like capital efficiency, revenue growth, R&D results in robotics, rapid growth in energy storage and profit margins, AI compute growth, and the speed of building North America's first lithium refinery, using a lower cost, more environmentally state-of-the-art refining process developed in-house. Not to mention the Tesla Semi production facility coming on line shortly to crank out pure electric heavy trucks. None of this is easy. None of this is medium-hard. It's all extremely difficult stuff requiring a very high degree of correct decisions, higher than most people could hope to manage as illustrated by how superior Tesla's results have been when compared to other businesses operating in the same space. Tesla is like 12 start-up companies in one, and they have been self-funding for the last six years, growing a 44 billion dollar war chest to use on the latest technologies offering the most promising rates of return. I would expect a company making such heavy investments in the future, and operating in the difficult EV market, to be heavily in debt, not sitting on $44 billion in cash. How is that bad management?

It's nothing short of astounding, if you ask me. And this is not even Elon's only wildly successful company. He has a long history of superior capital efficiency, doing more with less and providing superior returns. Bad management? That's just a baffling take.

I think you are either talking about a company other than Tesla or you think Tesla exists primarily to satisfy your individual personal automotive wants. Tesla looks at the entire addressable market of the markets they participate in, not what outliers personally think they want. That's how Tesla has the best-selling car in the world for the last three years in a row and have quickly become a leading stationary energy storage provider with superior margins and operate the worlds largest and most reliable DCFC Network. Tesla is one of the last companies I would expect to fail, given the proven management with exceptional vision, strong financials and capitally efficient R&D spending in emerging fast-growing segments. Elon's timing at entering new markets is astounding.

Wait until you see the amazing ways that Optimus will leverage Tesla's real world AI expertise. Tesla, with the Semi, Robotaxi, grid scale energy storage, battery manufacturing, humanoid robots and AI learning is on the verge of blowing all their earlier accomplishments out of the water. I can think of no other CEO who could have led Tesla as effectively as Elon has.

If you don't like the way Tesla operates their automotive division, maybe you should try Rivian, LOL!

Actually, I hope you are right and I’m wrong. I want to buy Teslas for as long as I can. Tesla has been awesome, but the near future is not looking that great right now. It’s not just me:
https://electrek.co/2026/01/29/tesla-committing-automotive-suicide/

 

[HaulingAss]

Actually, I hope you are right and I’m wrong. I want to buy Teslas for as long as I can. Tesla has been awesome, but the near future is not looking that great right now. It’s not just me:
https://electrek.co/2026/01/29/tesla-committing-automotive-suicide/

You are citing Electrek to show that Tesla is not looking good now?

Oh, my! Are you actually being serious? I'm constantly amazed at the narratives people are brave enough to push here.

 

[mitch9]

Actually, I hope you are right and I’m wrong. I want to buy Teslas for as long as I can. Tesla has been awesome, but the near future is not looking that great right now. It’s not just me:
https://electrek.co/2026/01/29/tesla-committing-automotive-suicide/

"Friends don't let friends read electrek", never mind quote it. They are long term haters of Elon & Tesla, and he (Fred) has nothing good to say about either. I will not even click on an a "news" story from electrek

 

[HaulingAss]

While I get some of your sentiment, it is absolutely the case that Elon, his politics, and his actions have hurt sales here in Europe. I know *many* people who outright refuse to even look at Tesla.

People who refuse to even look at Tesla because the CEO of the company is not afraid to speak his mind are misguided. Their loss is theirs alone. Those who do so because they think he is a Nazi are just gullible morons.

Things were going so well too until the braguisation of Twitter.

Elon acquiring Twitter and turning it into a platform supporting free speech and lack of government censorship was necessary for humanity to continue to succeed and prosper. Western civilization has been under attack by those who wish to destroy us for decades now. At first they thought they could do it violently, now they are taking a slower, more methodical approach by trying to destroy us from within. They try to divide us within and appeal to our natural compassion (when they have none).

The world doesn't work how you apparently think it does. Be careful who you believe. Food, goods and services and societal order do not automatically manifest, they require effort. Elon is doing more good for humanity than any other individual this century. Some people don't like it because it runs counter to their goal of taking what they think should be theirs.

 

[Setok]

People who refuse to even look at Tesla because the CEO of the company is not afraid to speak his mind are misguided. Their loss is theirs alone. Those who do so because they think he is a Nazi are just gullible morons.



Elon acquiring Twitter and turning it into a platform supporting free speech and lack of government censorship was necessary for humanity to continue to succeed and prosper. Western civilization has been under attack by those who wish to destroy us for decades now. At first they thought they could do it violently, now they are taking a slower, more methodical approach by trying to destroy us from within. They try to divide us within and appeal to our natural compassion (when they have none).

The world doesn't work how you apparently think it does. Be careful who you believe. Food, goods and services and societal order do not automatically manifest, they require effort. Elon is doing more good for humanity than any other individual this century. Some people don't like it because it runs counter to their goal of taking what they think should be theirs.

Debating the politics could be fun (though I personally find personality worship distasteful), but not kosher here, I believe.

Regardless, the point still stands, Elon's actions have caused sales to drop off a cliff in Europe. You may disagree with their reasons.

 

[HaulingAss]

Debating the politics could be fun (though I personally find personality worship distasteful), but not kosher here, I believe.

You are the only one who brought up personality. No one has worshipped Elon's personality. His effectiveness is demonstrated by his actual results.

 

[Minarets]

It’s hard to imagine they would give up on the cyber truck already. I mean in reality it’s been a concept since 2019. But if you have been to the Austin manufacturing facility, it is absolutely a monstrosity. I work in construction and we’ve been doing work there since the beginning. I can’t imagine what they could convert to and utilize that space. And they are still building.

That said, Ford’s blue oval projects in Memphis and in Louisville total $11 billion and they’re going to repurpose the EV plant it so I guess anything is possible

 

[vandytom]

Sounds like Cybertruck is done as we know it. It may live on for a tiny bit longer but clearly they're going to be transitioning it into something else.

I'm glad I got to experience the Cybertruck when I had the chance.

Own a piece of StarBase. We’ll always be a special part of SpaceX.

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