Musk Says Tesla Will Refund 'A Lot' of Cybertruck Deposits Before the Line Shuts
Musk says demand outpaces the shrinking Austin line and denies the truck was unprofitable. Tesla hasn't said how many buyers will lose their place.
Tesla has more Cybertruck orders than it can build before the truck goes out of production, and many buyers will get their deposits back instead of a truck. That's according to CEO Elon Musk, who made the claim on X on Monday, Nov. 9. Tesla itself hasn't issued a statement.
The post comes days after Musk said Tesla would wind down Cybertruck production around mid-2027 to free up room at Gigafactory Texas for the Cybercab robotaxi.
What Musk wrote
"The Cybertruck order rate far exceeds our production rate. We will try to make as many as possible before shutting down the line in about 8 months, but will have to return deposits for a lot of people. This is not a case of Cybertruck being unprofitable, as has been misreported by legacy media, but rather that the opportunity cost of the complexity of Cybertruck is vastly outweighed by the value of incremental Cybercab production."
Musk wrote on X in reply to a fan's post. He didn't say how many orders are outstanding or how many buyers will be refunded.
In an earlier post on Nov. 7, Musk said the backlog was larger than Tesla could build before dismantling the line and that the company would "add an extra shift to try to get all orders done in time." He didn't say when the shift would start or how much output it would add.
The numbers behind the claim
Tesla doesn't report sales by model, so outside estimates are the best available guide. GoodCarBadCar puts U.S. Cybertruck sales at roughly 63,369 from the start of deliveries through September 2026: about 23,800 in 2024, 25,800 in 2025, and 13,800 in the first nine months of this year. That works out to about 1,500 trucks a month in 2026.
When the line started in 2023, Musk talked about building up to 250,000 Cybertrucks a year.
Deposit refunds aren't new for the truck. Electrek reports that Tesla canceled the Cybertruck for Australia and New Zealand about two weeks ago and returned deposits placed there in 2019.
What it means for buyers
Anyone with an unfilled order now faces roughly eight months of production and no guarantee of a truck. Tesla hasn't explained how it will decide which orders get built. For current trims and delivery estimates, see our Cybertruck prices and wait times guide; for alternatives, our electric pickup buying guide compares the Rivian R1T, Chevrolet Silverado EV, and GMC Sierra EV.
