Tesla claims that the Cybertruck is the 'top seller,' so what’s the reason behind its discounts?

For the first time, Tesla has announced price cuts on the Cybertruck, with reductions reaching as high as $2,600.

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Tesla is declaring the Cybertruck to be “America’s bestselling electric pickup truck in 2024.” And yet for the first time, the company offering discounts of up to $2,600 on the low-poly truck, a sign that demand may not be as strong as Tesla would like you to think.

The discounts, which appear on the company’s inventory webpage, are as high as $1,600 for brand new Cybertrucks, and up to $2,600 for slightly used demo versions of the truck. The price reduction you see will depend on how you configure your Cybertruck.

The recent discounts are emerging as the electric vehicle market experiences a surge of options, featuring both well-known brands such as Chevy and Hyundai, alongside newcomers like Rivian and Lucid. For those in the market for an electric truck, the choices are plentiful, with models like the Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Hummer and Sierra EVs, as well as the Rivian R1T available to consider.

But the Cybertruck is outselling all of those options, according to Tesla. How do we know? You’re just going to have to take their word on it, because Tesla doesn’t break out sales numbers for the Cybertruck — instead just lumping it in with its “other models,” like the Model S, Model X, and Tesla Semi. As noticed by Electrek, that stands in contrast to how Ford reports its sales numbers.

For example, Ford said it sold 33,510 F-150 Lightnings in 2024. And Tesla sold an estimated 40,000 Cybertrucks, which would back up its claim of best-selling electric truck in the US. But again, those are just estimates.

The discounts certainly complicate Tesla's assertion. Price reductions typically occur when a manufacturer faces an oversupply of vehicles. Additionally, since Tesla sells cars directly to consumers without using the conventional dealership model, these discounts originate directly from the company itself.

After appearing on the company’s inventory page late last year, Foundation series Cybertrucks were recently removed. And earlier this month, Tesla asked factory employees working on the Cybertruck line to stay home for three days, according to Business Insider. It would seem as if demand is starting to weaken — a phenomenon being experienced by almost every automaker with EVs to sell. After selling cars to all the early adopters, companies are struggling to push their products on more price conscious, mass market shoppers.

All of this evidence points to weakening demand for the Cybertruck. The EV certainly has its fans, but the polarizing design, as well as Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s hard right politics, has also been a factor in the truck’s diminishing appeal.

With EV incentives poised to vanish if Donald Trump returns to office, and tariffs anticipated to disrupt the automotive sector, the Cybertruck may face an even tougher landscape in 2025.