Now that the EV tax credit is gone, Tesla’s fourth-quarter sales are expected to disappoint again.
Despite pessimistic sales forecasts, Tesla’s stock price has soared, up nearly 50% in the past six months, once again demonstrating that the company’s $1.5 trillion market capitalization is largely unrelated to the success of its core business.
But that didn’t stop Tesla CEO Elon Musk from seemingly putting his thumb on the scale. According to an inside source erektrekThe billionaire’s space company SpaceX has purchased more than 1,000 Cybertrucks from Tesla, a number that could increase to 2,000 over time.
In other words, it’s hard to imagine that another one of Musk’s companies has spent more than $100 million on Tesla, and it looks like an embarrassing tactic to save face for the electric car maker.
A video circulating on Musk’s social media platform X showed a large number of Cybertrucks parked outside SpaceX’s South Texas facility.
Considering that the electric pickup truck has been a huge commercial failure, with sales accounting for only a fraction of Musk’s promised 250,000 to 500,000 Cybertruck sales per year, there’s a good chance Tesla could use another investment from the mercurial CEO to boost sales before a disastrous year ends.
The company is struggling to close sales as Musk embraces far-right ideology and continues to alienate his customers. Tesla U.S. sales fall to lowest point in nearly four years in November Reuters reported last week. A cheaper, stripped-down version of its Model Y SUV failed to reverse the decline.
Registration data shows the company sold just 5,385 Cybertrucks in the United States in the third quarter, a sharp 62% drop from the same period last year.
In addition to being a critical commercial failure, the Cybertruck was recalled eight times for sometimes obvious design issues and was criticized for its relatively low range and much higher price than originally advertised.
Still, Musk is convinced the truck is a success story, tweeting earlier this month that it’s an “incredible vehicle” and “the best vehicle Tesla has ever built.”
It remains to be seen how committed the electric car maker is to producing the stainless steel monster. Musk has been trying to move Tesla away from selling traditional cars and instead focus on developing robotaxi services and humanoid robots.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s core business appears to be getting worse from wear and tear. In addition to drying up demand, the company is facing new regulatory headwinds, with California threatening the company with a 30-day ban on car sales in the state for using the term “self-driving” to mislead customers.
Despite faulty marketing terms, Tesla vehicles—at least the ones sold to the public—cannot drive fully autonomously and require drivers to be able to take over control at any time.
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