Tesla Cybertruck: history, changes by year, range and recalls

The story of the Cybertruck

On the night of November 21, 2019, at Tesla's design studio in Hawthorne, California, Elon Musk turned to chief designer Franz von Holzhausen and asked him to try to break the truck's "armor glass." Von Holzhausen threw a metal ball at the window and it shattered. He tried the rear window and it shattered too. Musk later explained that an earlier sledgehammer blow to the door had cracked the base of the glass, which is why the ball did not bounce off. The clip became the most replayed moment of the night, and it did nothing to cool interest: within three days Musk was tweeting that 146,000 reservations had come in, then 200,000, each backed by a $100 deposit.

The shape was deliberate provocation. Musk had told Recode he wanted "a really futuristic-like cyberpunk, 'Blade Runner' pickup truck," and the reveal date was a wink: Ridley Scott's 1982 film is set in November 2019, and Musk shared its opening scene after calling the date "strangely familiar." He also said the design was partly influenced by The Spy Who Loved Me, the Bond film whose Lotus Esprit turns into a submarine. Tesla promised three versions: a single-motor truck for $39,900, a dual-motor for $49,900 and a tri-motor for $69,900, with production to start in late 2021.

The flat panels were not only styling. Musk said the body was an ultra-hard, cold-rolled stainless steel, the same alloy SpaceX was developing for its Starship rocket (in 2020 he said the alloy would change). That steel is too hard to stamp without breaking the press, so the truck had to be built from planes and folds. Turning that idea into a production vehicle took far longer than promised. In September 2021 Tesla pushed the start to late 2022; in January 2022 it dropped a firm timeline altogether, citing supply chain constraints. The first production truck finally came off the line at Gigafactory Texas in July 2023, and on the October 2023 earnings call Musk warned investors: "We dug our own grave with the Cybertruck."

Along the way the engineering team invented around the steel. Panels are bent on machines that float the visible surface on a cushion of high-speed air so it is never marred. The low-voltage electrical system runs at 48 volts instead of the traditional 12, cutting the current and the copper needed, and Tesla later sent a whitepaper on it to rival automakers. The steering wheel has no mechanical link to the wheels, and the rear wheels steer too.

Deliveries began on November 30, 2023, at an event at Giga Texas in Austin. Tesla quoted $60,990 for a rear-wheel-drive truck due in 2025, $79,990 for the dual-motor AWD and $99,990 for the tri-motor Cyberbeast, but the first trucks were Foundation Series builds at $99,990 (AWD) and $119,990 (Cyberbeast). Five months in, Tesla recalled all 3,878 trucks built through early April 2024 because an unapproved change, soap used as a lubricant during assembly, could let the accelerator pedal pad slide off and wedge the pedal down.

Early sales were strong for a $100,000 pickup: Cox Automotive estimates Tesla sold 38,965 in 2024, making it the best-selling electric pickup and fifth best-selling EV in the United States. Then demand fell hard. Cox's 2025 estimate is 20,237 trucks, down 48 percent, and SpaceX alone bought 1,279 Cybertrucks in the fourth quarter of 2025. Tesla tried a cheaper Long Range RWD at $69,990 in April 2025 and dropped it that September, briefly offered a $59,990 Dual Motor AWD in February 2026, and then raised prices by $5,000 in August 2026. Deliveries outside North America started in South Korea in November 2025 and the Middle East in early 2026. Tesla has said it will not use the stainless exoskeleton or air-bent panels on future vehicles, which makes the Cybertruck a one-off in Tesla's lineup.

Generations

2023–present First generation

The stainless-steel exoskeleton pickup built at Giga Texas, launched as Foundation Series AWD and Cyberbeast trucks and later offered in cheaper single- and dual-motor forms.

The first-generation Cybertruck is the truck Tesla revealed in 2019 and spent four years making buildable. Production at Gigafactory Texas in Austin began in July 2023 and customer deliveries followed on November 30, 2023. The launch lineup was narrower than the one promised on stage: Tesla announced a single-motor rear-wheel-drive version for 2025 at $60,990, but the trucks that actually shipped first were Foundation Series dual-motor AWD models at $99,990 and tri-motor Cyberbeasts at $119,990. The Foundation Series ran for about 11 months and ended in October 2024, when Tesla opened orders for regular AWD and Cyberbeast trucks.

The Cyberbeast is the headline act: three motors, 845 horsepower, 0 to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds and a 130 mph top speed. Every Cybertruck uses the same basic recipe of an unpainted stainless-steel exoskeleton, a 48-volt low-voltage architecture, steer-by-wire front steering and rear-wheel steering that can turn the back wheels up to 10 degrees. Wade Mode raises the truck to its highest ride height so it can ford water up to about 32 inches deep, measured from the bottom of the tire.

The lineup has changed almost every year. In April 2025 Tesla added a Long Range RWD at $69,990 with fewer features, and removed it from the configurator in September 2025, about five months later. In February 2026 a new Dual Motor AWD base trim appeared at $59,990 with the same performance, range and charging speed as the renamed Premium AWD, while the Cyberbeast price fell from $114,990 to $99,990. The $59,990 price lasted about ten days before rising to $69,990, and in August 2026 the Dual Motor and Premium trims each went up another $5,000, to $74,990 and $84,990. International sales opened in South Korea (first deliveries November 27, 2025) and the Gulf, with deliveries in the United Arab Emirates starting in January 2026.

Sales tell the rest of the story. Cox Automotive estimates 38,965 Cybertrucks sold in the U.S. in 2024 and 20,237 in 2025, the steepest decline of any EV nameplate that year, and fourth-quarter 2025 registrations were propped up by 1,279 trucks bought by SpaceX.

Variants

Years	Variant	Drive	Battery	EPA range	0–60 mph	Top speed
2023-2024	Cybertruck AWD Foundation Series	Dual-motor all-wheel drive	—	—	—	—
2023-2024	Cyberbeast Foundation Series	Tri-motor all-wheel drive	—	—	2.6 s	130 mph
2024-present	Cybertruck AWD (called Premium AWD from February 2026)	Dual-motor all-wheel drive	—	—	—	—
2024-present	Cyberbeast	Tri-motor all-wheel drive	—	320 mi	2.6 s	130 mph
2025 (April-September)	Cybertruck Long Range RWD	Rear-wheel drive	—	—	—	—
2026-present	Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD	Dual-motor all-wheel drive	—	—	—	—

Each variant name links to the source for its figures. A dash means no reliable published figure.

EPA ratings

Year	Trim	Drive	Range	MPGe (comb.)	Source
2025	Cybertruck AWD	All-Wheel Drive	325 mi	79	EPA
2025	Cybertruck Long Range	Rear-Wheel Drive	335 mi	82	EPA
2026	Cybertruck AWD	All-Wheel Drive	325 mi	79	EPA
2026	Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD	All-Wheel Drive	325 mi	78	EPA
2026	Cybertruck Long Range (20in Cyber wheels)	Rear-Wheel Drive	335 mi	78	EPA

Selected EPA ratings from fueleconomy.gov. Wheel size and trim change the rating, so check the EPA listing for an exact car.

What changed, year by year

2019 Unveiled in Hawthorne

Tesla revealed the Cybertruck on November 21, 2019, promising single-, dual- and tri-motor versions at $39,900, $49,900 and $69,900 and production in late 2021.
Source
2021 Production pushed to late 2022

In September 2021 Tesla delayed the start of production from late 2021 to late 2022; in January 2022 it stopped giving a firm date, citing supply chain constraints.
Source
2023 First truck built at Giga Texas

Tesla announced in July 2023 that the first production Cybertruck had been built at Gigafactory Texas in Austin.
Source
2023 Deliveries begin with the Foundation Series

Deliveries started at a Giga Texas event on November 30, 2023. Tesla listed the AWD at $79,990 and Cyberbeast at $99,990 with an RWD model at $60,990 promised for 2025, but early trucks were Foundation Series builds at $99,990 (AWD) and $119,990 (Cyberbeast).

How to recognize it: Foundation Series trucks carry Foundation Series badging.
Source
2023 48-volt architecture shared with the industry

In December 2023 Tesla sent its 48-volt electrical system whitepaper to other automakers; Ford CEO Jim Farley confirmed Ford had received a copy.
Source
2024 Accelerator pedal fix

Tesla recalled 3,878 trucks built between November 13, 2023 and April 4, 2024 because soap used as an assembly lubricant could let the accelerator pad slide off and wedge the pedal. Trucks built from April 17, 2024 received a new pedal.
Source
2024 Foundation Series ends

After about 11 months, Tesla ended the Foundation Series in October 2024 and opened orders for regular AWD and Cyberbeast trucks.
Source
2025 Long Range RWD arrives

In April 2025 Tesla added a single-motor Long Range RWD at $69,990, cheaper than the AWD but stripped of several features.
Source
2025 Long Range RWD dropped

About five months after launch, in September 2025, Tesla removed the Long Range RWD from its U.S. configurator, leaving the AWD ($79,990) and Cyberbeast ($114,990).
Source
2025 First deliveries outside North America

Orders opened in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE in October 2025, and South Korea became the first overseas market to receive trucks on November 27, 2025. UAE deliveries followed in January 2026.
Source
2026 Dual Motor AWD base trim and Cyberbeast price cut

In February 2026 Tesla introduced a Dual Motor AWD at $59,990 with the same performance, range and charging speed as the Premium AWD but fewer features, and cut the Cyberbeast from $114,990 to $99,990. About ten days later the Dual Motor rose to $69,990.
Source
2026 $5,000 price increase

In late August 2026 the Dual Motor AWD rose to $74,990 and the Premium AWD to $84,990; the Cyberbeast stayed at $99,990.
Source

Did you know

The reveal date was a nod to Blade Runner. The 1982 film is set in November 2019, and Musk shared its opening scene after calling the date of the November 21, 2019 unveiling "strangely familiar."
Source
Musk said at launch that the body used the same ultra-hard, cold-rolled stainless steel alloy SpaceX was developing for Starship. The steel is too hard to stamp, which is why the truck is made of flat planes and folds.
Source
Tesla bends the stainless panels on machines that float the sheet on a cushion of high-speed air, so the side that becomes the visible outer skin never touches the tooling and stays unmarked.
Source
The Cybertruck was the first production vehicle to run its entire low-voltage system at 48 volts, which cuts current by a factor of four. A few low-power items, such as interior lamps and the radio, still run on a lower 16-volt circuit.
Source
Wade Mode raises the truck to its Very High ride height and is rated for water about 32 inches (815 mm) deep, measured from the bottom of the tire, at 1 to 3 mph and for no more than 30 minutes.
Source
The rear wheels can steer up to 10 degrees, turning opposite to the fronts at low speed, which Tesla says gives the Cybertruck a tighter turning circle than a Model S.
Source
The 2019 reveal promised a $39,900 starting price. The cheapest trucks at the November 2023 launch were Foundation Series AWD models at $99,990, and the $60,990 rear-wheel-drive version announced that night never reached customers.
Source
The first Cybertruck recall came down to soap. Tesla found an unapproved change, soap used as a lubricant during assembly, could let the accelerator pad slip off and wedge the pedal, and recalled 3,878 trucks in April 2024.
Source
SpaceX bought 1,279 Cybertrucks in the fourth quarter of 2025, about 18 percent of all Cybertrucks registered in the U.S. that quarter.
Source

Safety recalls

NHTSA lists 11 recall campaigns that include the Cybertruck. 3 of them were fixed by an over-the-air software update, with no service visit needed. The most recent:

Apr 2026 · wheels:lugs/nuts/bolts/studs
Oct 2025 · exterior lighting
Oct 2025 · exterior lighting

Cybertruck recall campaigns, with NHTSA's summaries →

Cybertruck owner tips Hidden features, practical tips, and what to do when the 12-volt battery dies Story From NUMMI to Cybercab: How Tesla Built Its Factories A shuttered joint venture plant in California, a battery factory in the Nevada desert, and new plants in Shanghai, Germany and Texas turned a small carmaker into one of the world's largest manufacturers, and a factory in Mexico still waits. Story From Six Superchargers to the Continent's Plug Tesla built a private fast-charging network for the Model S in 2012. Twelve years later its connector was an SAE standard, rival brands were plugging in, and the team that ran it had been fired and partly rehired. Story The Cybertruck: From a Broken Window to a Hard Sales Reality Four years separated the Cybertruck's chaotic 2019 reveal from its first deliveries in Texas, and the truck that finally arrived met a market far smaller than the reservation numbers suggested. Story How Twitter and Washington Hit Tesla From the 2022 Twitter purchase to a 2025 stint in government and a public split with Trump, Elon Musk's activities outside Tesla left measurable marks on its stock, sales and brand.

Cybertruck links

Cybertruck on tesla.com
Official specs, pricing, and configurator.
Wikipedia: Tesla Cybertruck
In-depth history and references.
r/cybertruck
Owner community on Reddit.
Video reviews on YouTube
Road tests and long-term owner reviews.
Cybertruck owner's manual
Tesla's official manual, including Wade Mode, jump starting and manual door releases.