Tesla Cybertruck's bumpy run: cracked windows, long delays and 11 recalls

Nov 6 (Reuters) - Tesla TSLA.O will wind down production of its Cybertruck around mid-2027, according to CEO Elon Musk, bringing a quick end to the futuristic stainless-steel pickup whose troubled journey began with cracked windows at its unveiling.

It took the sharp-angled truck four years to go from unveiling to customers' driveways, but the model will have spent just three and a half years on sale by the time production winds down next year.

Here are five moments from its bumpy run:

CRACKS ON DAY ONE

Musk introduced the Cybertruck at Tesla's design studio in Hawthorne, California, on November 21, 2019.

During the event, he tried to show the windows were shatterproof by having metal balls thrown at them. But two windows cracked, and the demonstration went viral.

"Yup. Sledgehammer impact on door cracked base of glass, which is why steel ball didn’t bounce off. Should have done steel ball on window, then sledgehammer the door. Next time...," Musk said in a X post.

Tesla tried again at its November 2023 delivery event when Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen threw a baseball at the armored glass, and it held.

Built from shiny stainless steel that Tesla bills as bulletproof and inspired by the dystopian look of "Blade Runner," the Cybertruck was expected to boost Tesla's brand, which had been dented by steep price cuts meant to boost demand at the time, according to analysts and branding experts.

Musk originally said the Cybertruck would use the same ultra-hard cold-rolled stainless steel alloy developed for SpaceX's Starship rocket, though the two later used closely related but slightly different variants.

RESERVATION RUSH

Tesla took reservations for the model with a refundable $100 deposit. On November 23, 2019, Musk said there were 146,000 orders so far, and followed that days later with an announcement Tesla had received 250,000 preorders in the five days since the unveiling.

But the deposit was refundable and did not commit buyers to a purchase. Some reservation-holders listed their spots on eBay for $1,000 to $8,000.

TWO YEARS LATE

In November 2019, Musk said production would start in late 2021. By August 2021, Tesla had quietly pushed all Cybertruck production to 2022, disclosing the move through a note on its reservation page.

Musk later cited supply chain shortages when production was further pushed into 2023.

The first truck came off the line at Gigafactory Texas in July 2023, though Tesla later said that was pilot production. Tesla held a delivery event at the Texas factory on November 30, 2023.

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian became one of the first owners after Musk handed him the keys at the November delivery event. Tennis star Serena Williams, who is married to Ohanian, has also been seen riding in it.

A PRICE TAG THAT KEPT CLIMBING

At the 2019 unveiling, Tesla listed a single-motor model at $39,900, a dual-motor version at $49,900 and a tri-motor flagship at $69,900. By late 2023, the base price had risen to $60,990.

In February 2026, Tesla launched a dual-motor all-wheel-drive trim at $59,990, the lowest price the truck has ever sold for. Musk then said the price was good "only for the next 10 days." It rose to $69,990 in March and to $74,990 in August.

Tesla raised prices again just a day before Musk announced the production wind-down, listing that trim at $82,490, the Premium trim at $92,490 and the Cyberbeast at $102,490.

11 RECALLS

Tesla has issued 11 recalls for the Cybertruck since it went on sale in late 2023, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Some vehicles needed physical repairs, while others were fixed with over-the-air software updates.

A January 2024 recall over the fonts used in warning lights covered more than 2.19 million Tesla vehicles, including the Cybertruck.

In April 2024, Tesla recalled 3,878 Cybertrucks over an accelerator pedal pad that could come loose and get stuck in the interior trim.

A March 2025 recall covered 46,096 Cybertrucks because of a light bar that could delaminate and detach.