Tesla Cybertruck is a mistake turned marketing tool
I think Cybertruck was a mistake for Tesla as it created this gap in growth for the company, but the automaker is making the most out of it as it turns the electric pickup truck into a marketing tool.
Tesla never had a dud. All its vehicle programs were successful in their own rights, some even wildly successful.
It’s too early to say if the Cybertruck is also going to be successful. It is enjoying a large reservation backlog, but it will be interesting to see how the demand holds once the vehicle’s production is ramped up.
But even once it is ramped up, Tesla is only talking about producing roughly 250,000 Cybertrucks per year.
It’s not nothing, but it also doesn’t significantly move the needle.
In fact, I would argue that Cybertruck has created what Tesla is describing as a break in its “waves of growth.” The first wave was the ramp-up of Model 3/Y and the next one is expected to be the ramp-up of Tesla’s upcoming next-generation vehicles starting in late 2025.
Tesla used to grow deliveries at a rate of roughly 50% per year, which is absolutely incredible for a major automaker.
Now, the growth has slowed greatly (20% as of last quarter), and Tesla has confirmed that it should be down throughout 2024. That’s obvious. Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y are almost maxed out, and the automaker only has Cybertruck to add to the lineup in 2024.
I would argue that Tesla would have been better off focusing its resources on its next-gen vehicles, the “$25,000 Tesla” and “robotaxi” throughout the last few years, to shorten the gap between its two growth phases.
If Tesla had brought the next-gen vehicles to market instead of the Cybertruck, it would have likely cut this break in growth by over a year.
Now, we likely can’t expect Tesla to return to 50% growth in deliveries until at least 2026.
But I have to admit, Tesla is making the best out of it. Again, I’m not saying the Cybertruck can’t be a successful vehicle program in itself. It’s too early to tell, but it could very well become one.
The production version of the Cybertruck is disappointing in many ways. It’s way more expensive than originally announced, it has a shorter range and requires an “extended range” battery pack that takes up a big part of the bed to get meaningful towing range.
On the other hand, it also introduces some cool technologies, like steer-by-wire and a 48-volt electrical system, and albeit polarizing, the novel design has attracted a lot of fans – and Tesla seems to be doubling down on that.
Hate it or love it, the Cybertruck is getting a ton of attention, and Tesla is utilizing it.
We reported that the unveiling of the Cybertruck alone already helped the sales of Tesla’s other vehicles by bringing people who were hearing about or getting interested in Tesla for the first time into the stores.
The Cybertruck rollout was also unique for Tesla. Before even starting deliveries, Tesla started to bring the vehicle in showrooms around the US. That’s unprecedented for Tesla. Again, it brought people into the showrooms, where Tesla tried to sell them its other electric vehicles.
Now, you can argue that it is still useful to have the Cybertruck in showrooms for reservation holders to come see it in person before moving forward with their orders.
However, Tesla even brought the Cybertruck to showrooms in Canada, where Tesla has yet to open orders.
Furthermore, the automaker brought Cybertruck on a tour in China and Japan, where we have no idea when or even if the Cybertruck will be available. The goal is again to bring people in stores and sell them Tesla’s other vehicles.
Therefore, it’s clear that Tesla is using the Cybertruck as a marketing tool, and at least so far, it definitely has a bigger impact that way than on its own with deliveries.
Electrek’s take
Again, I’m not saying that Cybertruck is a bad vehicle program. All I am saying is that it looks like it was a mistake to focus on it rather than Tesla’s next-generation vehicles.
It looks like for Tesla’s mission and shareholder value, it would have been better off spending the resources on bringing the next-gen vehicles to market a bit sooner. The difference over a few years would likely have been in the hundreds of thousands of vehicles.
Now, to be fair, even if Tesla’s growth is only about 15-20% this year, it’s still impressive for a major automaker entering the year with a production rate of about 2 million vehicles per year.
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Hyundai issued a recall for nearly 600,000 vehicles in the US, including the popular Palisade SUV and several IONIQ electric vehicles.
Hyundai Palisade and IONIQ EV recall details
In a notice to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on September 12, Hyundai announced a recall of 568,580 2020-2025 model year Palisade vehicles.
The recall is due to faulty seat belt buckles in the front and rear, which may fail to latch. Although Hyundai expects only about 1% of the Palisade models actually have the defect, it’s issuing the recall out of an abundance of caution.
Hyundai said those with impacted vehicles may notice a lighter-than-normal “click” when fastening the seatbelt. You can bring it to a Hyundai dealer, where they will fix the seatbelt, free of charge.
Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on November 10, 2025. You can contact Hyundai’s customer service at 1-855-371-9460 with any questions. Hyundai’s recall number is 283.
In a separate notice sent to the NHTSA on September 12, Hyundai issued another recall for 31,042 2023 – 2025 IONIQ 6 EV models because the charging port door panel could detach.
Again, Hyundai expects only about 1% of them to have the defect. Those impacted can bring their vehicle to a local Hyundai dealer, where they will fix the port, free of charge.
Owner notification letters will also go out on November 10. Hyundai’s recall number for the IONIQ 6 is 282. Owners can contact Hyundai’s customer service hotline (listed above) with any questions.
But, wait, that’s not all. Hyundai issued a third recall on September 12 for just eight 2025 IONIQ 5 models due to improperly tightened fasteners that could loosen over time. Dealers will replace the bolts, align the wheels, and even replace the tires if needed, free of charge.
If you own any of the recalled vehicles, you can contact Hyundai’s customer service or NHTSA hotline (1-888-327-4236) with questions. You can also visit NHTSA.gov for more information.
Hyundai’s recalls follow Toyota, which issued a recall for over 590,000 vehicles in the US. Between the two, a combined 1.1 million cars have been recalled.
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Tesla has lost another leader of its Optimus humanoid robot program, which is upsetting those who bet on Tesla’s stock (TSLA), as CEO Elon Musk says most of Tesla’s value is tied to the robot.
Musk claims that 80% of Tesla’s future earnings would come from its humanoid robot, which he believes would bring in trillions of dollars and finally justify Tesla trading at more than 200 times earnings.
That’s been hard to believe considering the state of the Optimus program.
All of Tesla’s public demonstrations so far have involved remote control by humans, and the company has not been entirely forthcoming about that.
In June, Milan Kovac, the head of the Optimus program, left Tesla, just months after being promoted to senior vice-president by Musk.
Shortly after, we learned that Tesla was delaying production due to an unexpected redesign.
Now, we learn that another leader of the Optimus program has left Tesla: Ashish Kumar, who led Tesla’s Optimus AI team for the past two years.
Kumar received a phD in artificial intelligence from Berkeley in 2023 and quickly joined Tesla’s humanoid effort. He was believed to be leading the AI aspect of the program, while Kovac led the overall program, including robotics.
He announced his departure on X:
Kumar confirmed that he joined Meta’s AI team as a researcher. Meta has been aggressively poaching AI researchers over the last year, but Tesla has remained largely unaffected by this effort.
The Facebook owner has been reported to be offering substantial compensation packages worth hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions to AI researchers, but this hasn’t been confirmed.
Some Tesla shareholders were visibly upset by Kumar’s announcement and some quickly accused him of taking Meta’s money:
Kumar responded and claimed that Tesla was actually giving him a better deal than Meta:
Financial upside at Tesla was significantly larger. Tesla is known to compensate pretty well, way before Zuck made it cool. If I wanted to optimize for money, I would have stayed at Tesla.
It didn’t stop many Tesla sharehodlers to be mean to him for simply deciding to work on something else than Optimus:
Electrek’s Take
It will not come as a surprise to anyone here, but damn, the Tesla community is really becoming toxic.
This individual dedicated two years of his life working at Tesla. The only appropriate thing to say is: thanks for your hard work and good luck in your next endeavor.
The reason they are being so mean is that they believe Elon Musk’s lies that Optimus will justify Tesla’s insane valuation and become the most valuable company in the world; this guy’s departure challenges their view.
Why would he give up working on the most important product of all time and likely become a billionaire in the process? Maybe because these things won’t happen?
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It looks like electric motorcycle influencer Surronster has landed himself in trouble south of the border, based on an arrest video posted to his social media channels.
A heavily edited video posted on his Instagram page shows the controversial rider in handcuffs being led into a police vehicle by officers in Tijuana, Mexico. The reel appears to have been filmed by a companion in the influencer’s entourage. No additional context was provided in the post, and at the time of writing, details surrounding the arrest remain unclear.
The incident comes just two days after the influencer posted another update to his social media showing that he was being denied entry into Mexico with his Sur Ron electric off-road motorcycle loaded in the bed of his truck.
In the more recent clip, the Tijuana Municipal Police appear to be questioning him and an associate before handcuffing them both. An officer is seen starting to remove the influencer’s helmet, then the clip jumps to a shot of the influencer entering the back of the police truck, edited to avoid showing his unhelmeted face. Surronster has long concealed his identity, always being filmed while wearing a full-face dirt bike helmet.
Surronster has gained a large following online by pushing the limits of electric motorcycles – especially the Sur Ron Light Bee and similar lightweight electric dirt bikes. His content often shows him performing stunts, riding in traffic without a license plate, and usually on electric dirt bikes that are not street legal for use on public roads. His 1M+ following is comprised mainly of young male viewers in their teens and twenties, with many attempting to imitate the riders’ style and stunts. He has risen to become one of the leading influencers in the electric motorbike industry, all while promoting a rebellious image and racking up millions of views on social media.
That notoriety has earned him plenty of fans, but also a long line of critics. Many in the e-bike and e-moto community have called out the influencer for encouraging illegal and unsafe behavior that risks drawing increased regulation and public backlash against electric two-wheelers, not to mention the danger to young riders who may attempt to recreate his stunts. Others defend him as a thrill-seeking entertainer similar to traditional motorsport stunt riders.
A large proportion of his videos feature illegal riding activities, but his strict control over his anonymity has meant that he has effectively operated with impunity. But getting arrested in a foreign country is a serious matter, and it remains to be seen what charges – if any – he’ll face. At the time of publishing, the Tijuana Minicipal Police have not responded to a request for comment.
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