Tesla makes a decision on Cybertrucks that owners will love

From its inception, to its public debut, to its sales debut years later, to now, the Cybertruck has had a turbulent life so far. 

Tesla  (TSLA)  CEO Elon Musk started the buzz way back in 2017 when he teased a picture of "a pickup truck that can carry a pickup truck."

Musk promised a pickup truck with an electric powertrain that could generate enough towing capacity to make the most heavy duty Ford F-150 blush. 

Related: Tesla Cybertruck owners are going to hate Tesla's latest move

Musk even promised that the base version of this revolutionary vehicle would be affordable, starting at $39,900.

There was a bad omen during that 2019 presentation when Musk destroyed the supposedly indestructible window of a model Cybertruck. 

After a delayed 2021 release turned into a 2023 debut, fans who remembered the promise of the $39,900 model were disappointed to find that the base model started at more than $60,000.

At the top of the year, there were reports that Tesla was scaling down production of the Cybertruck. Tesla notified workers in a leaked memo that production workers on the Cybertruck assembly line at its Austin Gigafactory would be moving over to Model Y production. 

Cybertruck's latest bad omen hints and flagging sales 

Despite a rocky rollout, Cybertruck had a lot of momentum when it debuted, thanks to a celebrity promotional blitz that saw deliveries to everyone from Kim Kardashian to Cardi B. 

Cybertruck garnered over 1 million reservations before it went on sale. However, recall data from earlier this year showed that the company delivered on a little more than 46,000 of those reservations during the first year or so of sales. 

Earlier this year, Electrek reported that Tesla was no longer accepting Cybertruck vehicle trade-ins. The company was sitting on about $200 million in Cybertruck inventory as of April, according to the report, with prices falling 55% year over year.

Related: Tesla makes surprising decision on Cybertruck production

However, according to a new Electrek report, Tesla has reversed that policy. 

Tesla has started taking Foundation Series Cybertruck trade-ins, and the prices being offered seem to confirm the depreciation reported last month. 

Tesla was selling brand-new 2024 Cybertruck AWD Foundation Series for about $100,000 last year. A person with 6,000 miles on the odometer was offered $65,400 for that same vehicle, representing a 34.6% depreciation in less than a year. 

Pickup trucks generally lose about 20% of their value in the first year of ownership, according to Kelley Blue Book, with the rate slowing down to 8% to 12% a year after that. 

So a normal pickup wouldn't lose more than 34% of its value until its third year off the lot with regular use. 

The Cybertruck example being traded was extremely lightly used. 

Tesla is in desperate need of a new idea

It's safe to say that after about 18 months, the Cybertruck has been a flop for Tesla. Despite the social media hype around the truck, it hasn't sold very many units. 

Tesla could really use a new hit right about now. 

While the company's stock has rebounded nicely from the doldrums, rising more than 42% from its nadir, Tesla is still in trouble. 

Tesla has a backlog of vehicles it is trying to clear with steep discounts. 

Tesla reported a 9% year-over-year decline in first-quarter revenue to $19.34 billion with earnings of 27 cents per share. Analysts were expecting revenue of $21.3 billion with earnings of 41 cents per share.

The company's gross margin fell to 16.3% from 17.4%, and most concerningly, its automotive revenue fell 20% year over year to $13.9 billion. 

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