The rise and fall of Tesla’s Cybertruck in pictures

The Cybertruck was revealed to the world on a cloud-filled stage at Tesla’s design center in Hawthorne, California in November 2019.

The “Blade Runner”-inspired truck was supposed to start at $39,900, Musk predicted. He said the truck would begin production in late 2021 – and that Tesla hoped for three versions with ranges of 250, 300 and 500 miles.

During the reveal event, Musk said the car’s steel body could withstand bullets from a 9mm handgun. Then Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s chief designer, threw a metal ball at the driver’s window to test its sturdiness.

The driver’s window shattered on contact.

“Well, maybe that was a little too hard,” Musk said before deciding to throw the ball at the back seat window, which also shattered. “It didn’t work out!”

Musk said 146,000 people paid $100 to reserve a Cybertruck after the event.

Days after unveiling the 2019 Cybertruck, Musk posted a tug-of-war video on X (then called Twitter) between the Tesla and America’s best-selling pickup truck, the Ford F-150.

The stunt was intended to demonstrate the Cybertruck’s raw strength, but critics questioned whether it was a fair match: The F-150’s rear tires spin in the footage, and some suggested Tesla pitted an all-wheel-drive Cybertruck against a two-wheel-drive Ford.

Tesla’s initial plan to deliver the Cybertruck to customers by the end of 2021 was delayed by pandemic-related supply chain issues.

The electric vehicle maker still attracted attention by displaying the prototype truck at its dealerships, including in May 2021, when it landed at Tesla’s retail store in New York’s Meatpacking District.

After two years of delay, production of Cybertrucks began rolling off Tesla assembly lines in mid-2023.

Tesla began delivering the Cybertruck to the first batch of customers in November 2023.

During the delivery event, Tesla showed video of the Cybertruck in a drag race with a Porsche. The pickup reached the finish line before the German sports car, while it was towing a Porsche.

Tesla did not specify which Porsche model it was racing against.

Several people picked up their Cybertruck during a live-streamed delivery event – ​​the biggest name was Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

In the months since the Cybertruck’s release, several A-list celebrities have been spotted with the electric pickup, including Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber.

No celebrity has been more impactful than Pharrell Williams.

The singer-songwriter and creative director of Louis Vuitton was photographed struggling to parallel park the giant truck in Miami in January 2024. Eventually, a valet took over.

“This truck would never fit,” Roxana Gonzalez, a bystander who observed the parking attempts, told Business Insider.

Despite Musk’s claims about the Cybertruck’s ruggedness, viral videos following the truck’s launch painted a very different picture.

In late 2023 and early 2024, social media lit up with videos of Cybertrucks struggling to get through the snow.

So far, the Cybertruck has been recalled 11 times.

In April 2024, Tesla recalled nearly 3,900 early trucks because a loose gas pedal could cause the car to accelerate rapidly.

Other recalls followed, including wiper issues, loose exterior trim, delayed rear camera images, potential power loss, and body panels that could come loose while driving.

As President Donald Trump won back the White House – with strong support from Musk – the Cybertruck became a political object, fused with MAGA.

In early 2025, as Musk began his government role as the public face of DOGE, protests outside Tesla dealerships began. Cybertruck was a common material for billboards.

On March 11, 2025, Trump transformed the South Lawn of the White House into a Tesla showroom.

He and Musk held a press conference in front of five models – including a Cybertruck – as the president praised the cars and planned to buy a red Model S.

“It’s all computer,” the president said as he got into the sedan.

The photoshoot made it impossible to miss the political association surrounding Tesla.

SpaceX, Musk’s space exploration and AI company, reported in its May S-1 that it spent $131 million to buy Cybertrucks from Tesla in 2025.

Depending on the unit price, this represents approximately 1,200 to 1,800 vehicles.