Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry and a parade of A-listers helped make Tesla’s stainless-steel spectacle impossible to ignore. Now Elon Musk is preparing to wind down production. Apparently, fame has an expiration date.
For a few glorious years, the Tesla Cybertruck was Hollywood’s answer to a question nobody asked: what if a refrigerator got a publicist? Celebrities couldn’t get enough of the angular electric pickup. The general car-buying public? A considerably tougher audience.
On November 6, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that Cybertruck production at the Texas Gigafactory would wind down around mid-2027 to make more room for the Cybercab robotaxi. In other words, the stainless-steel spaceship is heading for its final act in Austin. Tesla has not clearly established whether production will move elsewhere, so calling it an immediate worldwide shutdown would be premature.
The A-List Got There First
Kim Kardashian showcased her Cybertruck on social media, calling herself a “Cool Carpool Mom,” and later reportedly gave one to friend Tracy Romulus. Katy Perry publicly thanked Musk when hers arrived, while Steve Aoki posted a Cybertruck delivery video. Big Sean also shared his truck. Their deliveries and posts were documented during the early celebrity Cybertruck frenzy.
Justin Bieber, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga and Pharrell Williams were among other famous faces reported or photographed with Cybertrucks. A sighting does not necessarily prove ownership, though Pharrell’s widely circulated struggle to parallel-park one was just one example of embarrassing Cybertruck sighting in the wild.
Musk even commented on the celebrity-owner phenomenon in 2024, saying, “Well, they clearly have great taste!” Acquired taste, indeed.
One Million Reservations. Where Did Everyone Go?
In 2023, Musk touted “over 1 million” reservations and declared that “demand is off the charts!” A refundable reservation, however, isn’t the same as a completed purchase—and the original roughly $40,000 entry-price promise gave way to a substantially more expensive production vehicle.
Fast-forward to November 2026 and Musk insists “The Cybertruck order rate far exceeds our production rate”—while also warning that Tesla “will have to return deposits for a lot of people.” His explanation is that the Cybercab is a better use of factory resources, not that the truck itself is unprofitable.
The actual sales picture is less red-carpet-worthy. Kelley Blue Book estimated just 20,237 U.S. Cybertruck sales in 2025, roughly half the prior year and nowhere near Musk’s earlier 250,000-per-year ambition. Estimated sales through September 2026 were down another 28%.
Revolutionary or Revolting?
Love it or loathe it, the Cybertruck did something genuinely rare: it made a pickup truck an unmistakable celebrity accessory. It also became a lightning rod for design debates, reliability complaints, recalls and an increasingly polarizing public image.
Was it an audacious automotive experiment that simply arrived before the world was ready? Or was it a very expensive stainless-steel punchline? Either way, once the factory line stops, the Cybertruck may become the ultimate limited-edition flex.
We're calling this one a cult classic in the making. Whether that's a compliment is up to you.
Photo: Representative Tesla Cybertruck, not a celebrity-owned vehicle. Praneeth Thalla / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0).
Have your say in The Taste Test: Cybertruck — Revolutionary or Revolting?
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