It’s not every day that a vehicle as hyped as Tesla’s Cybertruck finds itself at the center of an industrial shell game. But as 2026 unfolds, that’s exactly the story playing out across the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) market—and the numbers tell a tale that’s hard to ignore. According to S&P Global Mobility data reported by Bloomberg, SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space exploration company, purchased a staggering 1,279 Cybertrucks in the fourth quarter of 2025. That’s about 18% of the 7,071 Cybertrucks registered in the U.S. during that period. Add in the additional 60 units bought by Musk’s other ventures—xAI, Neuralink, and The Boring Company—and nearly one in five Cybertrucks sold went straight into the garages of Musk’s own empire.
These internal purchases are not just a statistical blip. They are ongoing, with SpaceX and its sibling companies registering another 225 Cybertrucks in January and February of 2026 alone, as reported by Electrek and corroborated by Yonhap News TV. The combined value of these transactions? Well over $100 million, based on the Cybertruck’s starting price of around $69,990, though the price has since fluctuated with Tesla’s recent adjustments.
It’s a curious sight—photos and videos circulating online show rows of unused Cybertrucks parked at SpaceX’s Texas Starbase facility. According to Tesla’s Cybertruck chief engineer, Wes Morrill, SpaceX has been replacing its gasoline support vehicles with electric Cybertrucks, at least for some fleet purposes. Yet, the rationale for xAI, an artificial intelligence and social media company, snapping up 50 electric pickups remains unexplained. Some of the trucks reportedly serve as security vehicles, but the broader purpose is still murky.
Why does this matter? Because, as S&P Global Mobility and Bloomberg both highlight, if these internal Musk-company purchases were excluded, Cybertruck registrations in Q4 2025 would have plunged by 51% year-over-year. That’s a dramatic drop for a vehicle that was supposed to revolutionize the American pickup market. The Cybertruck, launched in 2023 amid a media frenzy, was billed by Musk as the company’s best product yet. He boldly predicted annual sales of 250,000 units by 2025. The reality? Actual sales have limped along at around 20,000 units, a 48% decrease from 2024, according to multiple outlets including Electrek and Digital Today.
Industry analysts have not minced words. Karl Brauer, cited by Benzinga, remarked that the Cybertruck, once hoped to be Tesla’s answer to the Ford F-150, is now widely regarded as the company’s first commercial flop. Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions, was even more blunt, telling Bloomberg, "Tesla is running out of buyers for the Cybertruck." The numbers back them up—Tesla’s total vehicle deliveries in the first quarter of 2026 were 358,023 units, falling short of Wall Street’s consensus of 365,645. Meanwhile, the company produced 50,363 more vehicles than it sold, marking the largest quarterly inventory glut in its history.
It’s not just a Tesla problem. Ford, long a dominant force in the U.S. pickup market, has already halted production of its all-electric F-150 Lightning, pivoting instead to a range-extender hybrid model. This signals a broader industry reckoning with cooling demand for electric pickups, a segment once seen as the next big thing.
Tesla’s struggles are compounded by fierce competition. In 2025, the company lost its global EV sales crown to China’s BYD—a symbolic blow for a brand that once seemed untouchable in the electric revolution. Investors, who for years shrugged off declining auto sales in favor of Musk’s ambitious promises about robotaxis and humanoid robots, are showing signs of impatience. As reported by Yonhap Infomax and NewsPim, Tesla’s stock price has tumbled nearly 20% since its all-time high in mid-December 2025. Year-to-date, shares are down about 14% even after a modest boost from a UBS upgrade in April.
So, what’s Tesla doing to address the malaise? Price cuts, for one. In February 2026, the company launched a new all-wheel-drive Cybertruck at $60,000 and slashed the price of the high-end ‘Cyberbeast’ by $15,000 to $100,000. Whether these moves will reignite consumer interest remains to be seen. The second quarter of 2026 is shaping up to be a crucial test. If price reductions draw buyers back, the company’s reliance on internal sales might lessen. If not, the internal purchases could become a permanent feature, underscoring a deeper structural problem.
Some observers have pointed out that selling vehicles to affiliated companies isn’t unheard of in the auto industry. Manufacturers sometimes offer incentives or lease deals to employees or corporate partners to keep factory lines running when retail demand softens. But the scale of Tesla’s internal sales—nearly one in five Cybertrucks—stands out. As S&P Global Mobility analyst Tom Libby told Bloomberg, "When retail demand falls short of production, it’s a way to keep the factory humming." Still, the optics are hard to ignore, especially when the trucks are seen gathering dust at SpaceX’s facilities.
The Cybertruck’s journey from media darling to industry cautionary tale has been swift. Its polarizing angular design, high price, and the shifting mood around Musk himself have all contributed to its lukewarm reception. In fact, the vehicle’s initial price tag was over $100,000 for some models, a far cry from the sub-$40,000 figure Musk floated back in 2019. Even as Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 continue to anchor the company’s lineup, the Cybertruck’s fate remains uncertain.
Musk, for his part, has hinted at a pivot. During a January 2026 earnings call, he suggested expanding fleet sales to commercial customers, noting, "There is definitely a market for small urban cargo transport, and an autonomous Cybertruck would be very well suited for that." Whether this vision can rescue the Cybertruck from its current predicament is anyone’s guess.
For now, the numbers don’t lie. Tesla’s Cybertruck, once the poster child for the next generation of American pickups, is being propped up by Musk’s own companies as consumer demand falters. The coming months will reveal whether the company can turn things around—or if the Cybertruck will remain a symbol of overpromised, underdelivered innovation in the EV world.