Cybertruck Deliveries So Disappointing Tesla Does Not Even Include Them In Reporting

Has any vehicle ever been more overhyped than the Tesla Cybertruck? First launched in November of 2019, the vehicle was off the market for four years as Tesla focused on other priorities. Launched a second time in November of 2023, Tesla still hasn’t told anyone how many they have delivered in the U.S. market. 

We’re now into the sixth month since the Cybertruck’s second launch and Tesla’s “disastrous” Q1 2024 delivery report, as EV-advocacy publication Electrek named it, has its typical lack of transparency. However, given all the hype surrounding Tesla’s new Cybertruck, we assumed, incorrectly, that we might find out how many Tesla built and delivered. Nope.

You can jump to Tesla's delivery report here. 

Tesla is one of the least transparent automakers when it comes to providing delivery information. Only fellow BEV companies Rivan and Lucid tell fans, the media, and investors less. Tesla’s delivery reports are global, not regional. This helps Tesla obscure performance. Since Tesla has been continuing to enter new markets, the strong growth numbers imply that the company has more and more fans. It is hard to say whether that is true or untrue since we don't know how many of each vehicle Tesla has delivered or where. In fact, Tesla doesn't break down its individual models at all.

Instead of telling investors, fans, and the media how many of each model the company sold, like all major brands do, Tesla instead groups its two successful models, the 3 and Y, into one category. Then, it bundles the vehicles that are volume failures, the X and S, into another bundle. This week, Tesla added the Cybertruck to the losers bracket, which Tesla now simply refers to as “other.” We cannot imagine the logic behind literally “othering” one's own product, but Tesla must have its reasons. 

In addition to simply listing numbers, Tesla offers a short blub about its performance in its quarterly delivery report. In this latest report, the Model 3 gets a mention, but the company's newest product, the Cybertruck, does not. 

Here is a contrasting look at how major automakers report delivery volumes to the media, fans, and investors. Toyota does a particularly good job at this and has nothing to hide. The screenshot you see only represents Toyota’s electrified vehicles and only the U.S. market. In addition to providing incredible detail at the model and market level, companies like Toyota and Honda even go so far as to allow their PR personnel to discuss the percentage that individual trims are expected to account for within a model range. Tesla’s PR personnel, if they exist, are unresponsive to any request.

Cybertruck may be the most exciting new automotive product ever. That would be strictly an opinion. Factually, the success or failure of vehicles and companies are measured by deliveries and net profits. If the Cybertruck were hitting it out of the park, now six months after its most recent release and four and a half years since its first, one would think Tesla might highlight it or at least mention it in a delivery report. But no. 
 

Chart of Q1 U.S. electrified deliveries courtesy of Toyota. Top of page image of Cybertruck Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.

John Goreham is an experienced New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can follow John on Twitter, and connect with him at Linkedin.