Cybertruck recall reveals Tesla’s EV market share
A new recall from Tesla has allowed a rare look under the hood of the electric vehicle’s balance sheet.
Nearly 4,000 Cybertrucks were recalled on April 17 over a defect with the accelerator that causes it to get stuck when pressed, increasing the risk of a crash. The recall includes all of the trucks sold by Tesla since the vehicle reached the market in November.
This recall, unlike most that Tesla can fix with over-the-air updates, requires owners to bring their vehicles in for a physical repair.
The company does not itemize the number of vehicles sold by model in its quarterly reports, meaning that the recall offered a rare glimpse into the sales volume of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s pet project.
How many Cybertrucks has Tesla sold?
The 3,878 Cybertrucks covered by the recall represent all of the vehicle deliveries completed by the company since the rollout of the long-awaited truck in late November.
In July 2023, an unofficial reservation tracker suggested that around 1.9 million reservations were in place at the time, according to InsideEVs. The reservations cost $100 and are refundable until delivery if a customer changes their mind.
In December, the company began inviting customers with a reservation to place a $1,000 deposit for the truck.
How do Cybertruck sales compare to other electric trucks?
While the number of deliveries revealed by the recall may not be eyepopping, being near the 4,000 vehicles sold benchmark puts Tesla as a strong competitor in the domestic electric truck market.
Earlier this month, Ford reported that it had sold 7,743 of its F-150 Lightning electric trucks in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2024.
General Motors reported that it sold 1,688 Hummer EVs domestically.
Rivian, which sells a truck and an SUV, reported that it delivered 13,588 vehicles, though it did not provide a breakdown by model. Motor1 reported that the company had sold 2,399 of the R1T truck.
Cybertruck linchpin in Musk’s vision
Musk has signaled that the electric truck will be a key component of the company’s future.
“We’re likely to do probably a quarter million a year, I think ... maybe more ... again very much dependent on what the demand is like,” Musk said at the company’s 2023 annual shareholder meeting, later adding that the company could deliver up to 500,000 trucks.
Analysts see Cybertruck as ‘another black eye’
The recall hit during a tumultuous week at the company that saw layoffs, price cutting and a fight over a potential $56 billion pay package for Musk.
“This is another black eye for Tesla, which has added to the chaos going on for Musk,” Dan Ives, senior equity analyst at Wedbush Securities, told The Guardian. “Cybertruck is the pedestal moment and a recall out of the gates is a bad look.”