Tesla made huge waves in the figurative ocean of the automotive sector. In 2024, its new Model Y was dubbed the most popular car on the planet. Tesla sales went through the roof, and the financial return the company experienced was no doubt the driving force behind some of the questionable PR decisions from its CEO, Elon Musk. He seemed to think the sales would just keep coming, especially after the announcement of the Cybertruck. What he failed to consider, perhaps, was the kind of consumer he was appealing to with the Cybertruck: people who buy trucks are a different kind of breed than the average Tesla buyer.
How did Tesla find itself in this perilous position?
Tesla was first launched in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning as Tesla Motors, and is named after the Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla. However, the company got a major investment from Elon Musk in 2004, and he ended up becoming CEO in 2008. The company was viewed as the global leader in alternative power solutions and experienced great growth in the stock market from 2010.
That was followed by the Model S sedan, which was when it really started to pick up some “steam” and became a household name. No doubt through the escapades of Musk and his other company, SpaceX. Their designs that followed established them as not only the world’s leading EV manufacturer, but also a powerhouse in the sales department. They timed their release with the new age movement around the revolution regarding fossil fuels perfectly.
The result was Tesla, and indeed Musk, became global superstars and had the ear of the world’s leaders and the public. So the world was excited about the new Cybertruck and its space-age looking design. Musk made bold statements about the company receiving a million orders, and the hype around the Cybertruck was immense. But as always, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Why is Tesla not taking in Cybertrucks as acceptable trade-ins?
The automotive sector is no stranger to recalls. However, since its launch, the Cybertruck has had no less than 7 recalls. Some estimate that every single Cybertruck ever made has had a recall regarding some problem. That is a truly troubling statistic. The company’s expected sales figures have plummeted, and the newest problem has the public in a state of disbelief. Tesla doesn’t want its own cars.
Yes indeed. Tesla officially will not accept any Cybertruck as a trade-in. The company reported a backlog of Cybertrucks in its inventory. With sales in decline, the number of Cybertrucks that are sitting in a dusty Tesla warehouse will no doubt increase. This has led the company to no longer accept Cybertrucks for trade-in purposes.
The world is keenly looking for the next option in the sustainable, zero-emission future we all need. This is just the latest in a long line of problems for Tesla and Musk, after his recent statements and actions as the unofficial “best buddy” to Donald Trump have had an extremely negative effect on not only him, but also his flagship products and companies.
Is this the final nail in the electric coffin for Tesla?
We were all captivated by the potential EVs had to help heal the world and our destructive effect on it. Since the emergence of the alternative fuel sector, huge improvements in reliability and practical applications of new technology have been made.
So, one must ask if Tesla would be better off getting Musk out of the equation before their next major product release? If the Cybertruck fiasco is anything to go by, the public has little patience or tolerance for a faulty product or CEO. Musk’s future will define the company’s future, hand in hand.