The writing was pretty much on the wall for the Cybertruck range extender last month when Tesla removed the option from its website. Now, it’s officially scrapped it and is refunding the $2,000 deposits that customers put down for the $16,000 battery pack.
“We are no longer planning to sell the range extender for Cybertruck,” Tesla said in a message to customers on Wednesday, adding, “As a result, we will be refunding your deposit in full.”
The Cybertruck range extender was designed to address Tesla’s failure to deliver on the promised ranges for the outlandish pickup when it launched toward the end of 2023, and would’ve added about 120 miles to the vehicle’s range. For example, the tri-motor version of the Cybertruck was expected to have more than 500 miles of range but only offers 320 miles.
Tesla’s response was to boost the range using a separate battery pack — the range extender — that would’ve been installed in the pickup’s bed by a Tesla technician. The automaker originally said the pack would launch in early 2025, though toward the end of last year it changed it to “mid 2025.”
The changes to the range extender’s launch schedule means that folks who dropped a deposit for it have yet to receive it. And now they never will.
Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019, promising a futuristic electric pickup with bold, angular styling. While the Elon Musk-led automaker originally targeted a 2021 launch in North America, production faced repeated delays due to design and manufacturing challenges before finally starting at Gigafactory Texas in 2023.
Deliveries to the first buyers started in December of the same year, but they involved the dual-motor and tri-motor “Cyberbeast” variants, with those who preordered the single-motor Long Range model still waiting for it.
But the Cybertruck appears to be struggling, with only 6,406 units delivered in the first quarter — less than half the sales achieved in the previous quarter. The reduced demand has resulted in about $200 million worth of unsold inventory amid reports of thousands of unsold trucks.
The vehicle faces quality issues, high pricing — the available models start at $80,000 — and increasing competition, making it challenging for Tesla to boost sales. The fall in Cybertruck sales appears to reflect Tesla’s broader sales decline, which some have attributed to the negative public perception stemming from Elon Musk’s political activities and controversies.