Tesla is to wind down Cybertruck production next year after weak sales and multiple recalls, retreating from a vehicle Elon Musk had presented as a futuristic battle tank designed to be the toughest pick-up on the market.

Musk announced the planned wind-down at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Texas in a post on X. The company is concentrating on increasing output of its CyberCab self-driving taxis, part of his broader shift towards robotics and artificial intelligence.

The decision marks a substantial reversal of the ambitions surrounding the Cybertruck, unveiled in 2019 and launched in 2023. Musk originally said Tesla would aim to manufacture between 250,000 and 500,000 a year.

Sales have been far below that scale. Cox Automotive estimates that Tesla sold fewer than 12,000 Cybertrucks between January and September last year. Analysts had expected sales of 22,000 this year.

Those figures measure sales rather than production, and the nine-month estimate is not a full-year total. Even with those distinctions, they illustrate the gulf between Musk’s original manufacturing ambitions and the demand the vehicle has attracted.

One of its biggest buyers has been Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, as Tesla and SpaceX explore a potential merger. Those purchases place another Musk business among the Cybertruck’s largest customers, but do not establish wider consumer demand.

The wind-down shifts Tesla’s production priorities towards CyberCab. The commercial retreat from the pick-up is clear; whether the next bet can fulfil Musk’s ambitions remains unresolved.