Tesla Tries to Prop Up Failing Cybertruck’s Sales With Year-End Special Lease Deal

The Cybertruck has not been well-received by consumers. To help keep the trucks moving, Tesla is offering a special lease deal that ends on New Year’s Eve. 

Nothing says failure in the automotive world quite like a special deal less than one year from a product launch. It has not even been twelve months since the Cybertruck’s second launch - the real one - yet Tesla is resorting to special deals in order to help move the Cybertruck off lots and into driveways.

The new Cybertuck lease deals are in effect now, and they end on December 31. Lease deals for the six-figure supertruck are priced under $1,000. “Hurry on in!” “Are you ready to buy today!?” You know the spiel. “Get ‘em before they're gone,” all that classic car dealer jazz. Maybe negotiate for free undercoating. 

Cybertruck Falls Flat
The Tesla Cybertruck has been on the market now for just under 12 months. Deliveries began shortly after Tesla’s second launch event on November 30, 2023. Not the first launch in 2019, when Tesla broke the shatterproof glass during a weird minions-inspired dog and pony show, but the second one that heralded the start of deliveries. 

Since then, Tesla has released multiple quarterly results on its financial page. None of them mentioned Cybertruck. Instead, the Cybertruck is lumped in with the brand's other two failed models, the S and X. If estimates by Tesla fans are to be believed, the Cybertruck makes up the bulk of the “Other” category of products, and S and X are all but dead and buried at this point. 

Cybertruck Reservations Fizzled
Before the Cybertruck was released for sale, Tesla offered fans a reservation program. As always, many reservations were announced, giving Tesla fans hope that the weird six-figure dumpster-inspired marvel would be popular. However, multiple reports from outlets like Cybertruckownersclub.com and Electrek now surmise that only a tiny percentage of the folks who reserved the Cybertruck actually had the courage or finances to buy and drive one. Estimates of the cancellation rate of the Cybertruck's reservations are as high as 97.5%.

Cybertruck’s Disappointing Charging Profile
Among the nails in the Cybertruck’s coffin was a damning report by America’s most trusted EV charging expert, Tom Moloughney of State of Charge. Mr. Moloughney charged a “Foundation” series Cybertruck on a V3 Supercharger to see how long it would take. This is Tesla’s most modern equipment charging its most modern vehicle. The result? A charge time of well over one hour (86 minutes, to be exact). Mr. Moloughney named the truck “Cyberdud” in his content heading and summarized his analysis by saying:

• "The Cybertruck is not a great charging electric vehicle."
• “...it really is not anything special.”
• “I expected the Cybertruck to charge much better than this.”
• “Unfortunately, it really doesn’t charge that well.”

EV Trucks Are Low-Volume Failures

Like every battery-only pickup truck launched thus far, the Cybertruck has had disappointing delivery volumes and has not lived up to the hype. If you are looking for a great deal on a BEV truck and don’t mind the stigma of being seen in the truck, now is a great time to take advantage of desperation deals.

Related Story: Ford Pays Its Dealers Up To $22,500 To Move Out The Slow-Selling F-150 Lightning, It’s An Unprecedented Time For Truck Shoppers

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John Goreham is a credentialed 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. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). 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 connect with John on Linkedin and follow his work on our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John's by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ Grammarly grammar and punctuation software when proofreading. 

Image of Cybertruck courtesy of Tesla, Inc.