Automotive News isn’t noted for tough-minded journalism, so I was surprised by the negative tone of a recent Tesla Cybertruck story. It started with the provocative headline: “Cyberflop? Tesla discounts Cybertruck as demand cools for Elon Musk’s F-150 fighter.”
Reporter Laurence Iliff (2025) proceeded to trot out the usual data about the Cybertruck’s apparently softening sales, but what most stood out for me were the one-sided quotes.
“I think the Cybertruck can be officially considered a flop now,” Karl Brauer of iSeeCars told Iliff (2025). “Remember, this was going to be Tesla’s F-150. The new benchmark, foundational vehicle for the Tesla brand to keep it super powerful, super profitable and high volume.”
The only other source quoted by Iliff (2025) was Robby DeGraff at AutoPacific. He had even more negative things to say: “It’s just a dumb product, top to bottom. Look at the Tesla Model 3 — it’s really, really good. I wish Tesla could have mirrored that excellent execution elsewhere rather than wasting time on the Cybertruck.”
Other Cybertruck articles were also pessimistic
Iliff’s story tended to have the most negative slant on the Cybertruck, but others have also been relatively pessimistic that the Tesla can break out from being a relatively low-volume niche vehicle.
For example, Forbes (2025) argued that the Cybertruck was unlikely — at least in the near term — to reach a Tesla goal of manufacturing around 250,000 units per year. This was even if entry-level prices became more competitive with other EVs such as Ford’s F-150 Lightning. Reasons why include that the Cybertruck “features a radical design and comes with range-anxiety issues” that may not appeal to traditional truck buyers. In addition, Forbes noted that customer loyalty “in the truck market is very high, meaning that Tesla could be having a tough time going after existing owners.”
Also see ‘What happens when an alpha male test drives a Tesla Cybertruck’
Meanwhile, Joel Stocksdale of CarBuzz (2025) offered a similar take, noting that while “price cuts and cheaper models might help, the Cybertruck has an awful lot working against it. One of the big ones being that it’s a very niche vehicle. Regardless of its capabilities, the Cybertruck is not designed to appeal to mass markets. If we’re being charitable, the design is extreme, and it’s very much function follows form. It’s designed to appeal to some very specific people, and once those people own an example, your market is satisfied.”
The Street reporter James Ochoa (2025) pointed to indications that Cybertruck production has been scaled back in the new year. This is apparently occurring in the face of new incentives as well as a growing number of Cybertrucks piling up in used-car lots.
Jalopnik tops Automotive News in sheer invective
Jalopnik’s story mostly summarized Iliff’s piece but added an extra helping of invective. Amber DaSilva (2025) argued that Tesla head Elon Musk championed the “massive truck” to “assuage his crippled ego” with an “impractical and inherently compromised design because he can’t think of anything beyond what looks cool to what’s left of his out-of-touch, cyberpunk-obsessed, ketamine-riddled brain.”
One Jalopnik commentator noted that it is “funny to me that less people wanted a cybertrukkkkkk than wanted honda elements, but here we are, in a world where honda elements are a cult favorite that’s really holding onto its value. I cannot imagine the same will be true of the CyBeRtRukkk. These things are going to be the new Hummer h2” (Buckfiddiousagain, 2025).
I suspect that it is entirely too early to making the above prediction, but at this point the trend line suggests a niche vehicle that may lose altitude more quickly than Tesla’s current passenger cars.
In the end, Jalopnik topped Automotive News in its negativity, but I’m still surprised by the latter publication’s deviation from its usual staid reporting. Is this an indication of how the trade journal may approach Tesla coverage as Musk takes a major role in the incoming Trump administration?
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Buckfiddiousagain; 2025. Commentator in “Tesla Already Discounting Cybertrucks In Desperate Attempt To Boost Sales.” Jalopnik. Posted Jan. 16 at 2:39 p.m.
- DaSilva, Amber; 2025. “Tesla Already Discounting Cybertrucks In Desperate Attempt To Boost Sales.” Jalopnik. Posted Jan. 16.
- Forbes; 2025. “What Do Tesla’s Cybertruck Woes Mean For Its Stock?” Posted on Jan. 14.
- Iliff, Laurence; 2025. “Cyberflop? Tesla discounts Cybertruck as demand cools for Elon Musk’s F-150 fighter.” Automotive News (subscription required). Posted Jan. 16.
- Ochoa, James; 2025. “Tesla makes surprising decision on Cybertruck production.” The Street. Posted Jan. 13.
- Stocksdale, Joel; 2025. “Tesla Cybertruck Getting Discounts To Combat Stagnant Sales.” CarBuzz. Posted Jan. 14.
Well, I think it’s worth noting a lot of the negative tone of the article was due to external quotes, not (unlike Jalopnik) by anything the author said directly (aside, perhaps, from the term ‘Cyberflop’). I haven’t seen any article from what I consider an informed, objective source that suggests the Cybertruck is a success, which is probably why AN didn’t include any quotes supporting that view.
And I don’t think it suggests Automotive News will suddenly do nothing but bashing when it comes to Tesla coverage; they recently ran an article on Tesla’s ZEV credit pool which was pretty straightforward and paints an optimistic view of Tesla’s business selling ZEV credits.
Your points are well taken. My reaction was grounded in being trained in journalism school to always offer a countervailing perspective when writing a hard-news story (there ALWAYS is one). Of course, that’s not what we do here — Indie Auto is a journal of opinion.