Tesla Cybertrucks increasingly are appearing on roadways, and whether they’re attracting the eyes of gawkers or haters, the pickup’s popularity is a testament to what some electric-vehicle buyers are valuing in a truck.
It took minutes after getting his Cybertruck in mid-May for Cameron Bahri, 33, of West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, to experience the diversity of opinions. Another truck blew back smoke in his direction shortly after he’d hit the road. He’s had profanities shouted at him. At other times, five to 10 people might be crowded around the vehicle getting a photo or asking him about it.
“The design felt really futuristic,” said Bahri, who reserved a Cybertruck within days of its reveal in 2019. He says the pickup with its sharp angles reminded him of the “warthog” vehicle in the Halo video games. “When I walk out and see my truck, it’s hard to wrap my head around that I have it. It seems like a movie. It’s so comfortable, and the drive is so smooth. It doesn’t even really feel like a pickup truck. It feels like an SUV that doesn’t have a third row.
“People either love them or hate them,” he added. “I have a harder time understanding why they would hate them. The Cybertruck is like one of the most American-made trucks possible.”
Bahri wasn’t the only one attracted by the Cybertruck’s stainless steel body, iPad on wheels mentality and truck capabilities. Registrations in the United States for the Tesla pickup surpassed those of all the other all-electric trucks on the market in May, including the Ford F-150 Lightning, according to the most recent data available from S&P Global Inc.
Although it remains early, the results, experts say, point to the industry’s challenges in accomplishing what a traditional gas- or diesel-powered pickup can do as an EV, while buyers of EV trucks still are early adopters or looking at the purchase as more of a statement piece.
“I was surprised,” Tom Libby, associate director of industry analysis at S&P Global Mobility, said about the Cybertruck securing the top spot of EV trucks for the month, “but then again, it’s Tesla, so Tesla’s always surprising.”
Tesla doesn’t break out monthly U.S. sales. Registrations are an alternative. The Cybertruck’s registrations notched it fifth place among all battery-electric vehicles for May, according to the S&P data, with 3,907 new registrations. Tesla launched the initial limited-edition Foundation Series, which started at $100,000, on Nov. 30.
The Lightning, which began production in the spring of 2022, had 2,353 registrations in May (Ford Motor Co. recorded 3,260 Lightning sales). The Cybertruck registrations, though, even surpassed the Lightning’s peak month, of 3,794 vehicle registrations in November 2023, according to S&P. The Lightning starts at $62,995 for the retail XLT trim.
“They are such different species of vehicles,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions LLC. “A Lightning has a built-in base of consumers who like that type of truck, many of which use them as a traditional pickup. The Cybertruck is more like a status symbol and less like a traditional work truck. Comparing the two is apples and oranges.”
He added: “One month does not a trend make.”
Ford spokesperson Said Deep said in a statement: “Year to date, F150 Lightning is the No. 1 electric truck in America.”
Ford sold 15,645 Lightnings through the end of June, up 79% year-over-year. For registrations from January through May, the Lightning had 13,443, while the Cybertruck had 7,879, according to S&P. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in June the EV maker had reached production of 1,300 vehicles per week and that a Cybertruck with a lower cost will launch this year. Musk said in October the company had more than 1 million Cybertruck reservations.
The numbers for the registrations likely are coming from that prepared demand, Libby said: “After a while, those reservations will be taken care of, and then it will be interesting to see how demand holds up.”
The Rivian R1T, which starts at $69,900 and was the first all-electric truck to the U.S. market in late 2021, recorded 1,237 registrations in May, according to S&P. Meanwhile, the Chevrolet Silverado EV had 668 and the GMC Hummer EV had 359.
General Motors Co. spokesperson Shad Balch said the automaker is in launch mode for the Silverado, which just now is arriving in showrooms. Last week, the company said it again was delaying the start of expanded production from late 2025 to mid-2026 at its assembly plant in Orion Township.
“We’re excited about the growth opportunity in the electric vehicle market,” Balch said.
A request for comment was left with a Rivian spokesperson.
Experts said how the Cybertruck performs in the coming months will be more telling, especially as additional competition enters the market. Stellantis NV’s all-electric Ram 1500 REV will launch before the end of the year.
“It’s a novelty,” Sam Abuelsamid, principal e-mobility analyst at market research firm Guidehouse Inc., said of the Cybertruck. “The people that want a truck to do truck stuff are probably not buying that thing. It’s the people in the past that would’ve bought the Model S Plaid or Model X. It’s not necessarily F-Series or Rams or Silverados being traded in on Cybertrucks.”
S&P Global’s data shows that the top vehicles whose owners are coming to get a Cybertruck are F-Series trucks, Libby said. Given the price point on the Tesla pickup, though, it’s likely it’s a secondary vehicle for many of these buyers, who tend to be higher-income.
“They could be adding the Cybertruck to the garage,” Libby said. “In other words, they’re not necessarily replacing.”
Marcus Goodrich, 49, of Phoenix, Arizona, though, did replace his Ford F-250 Super Duty truck with the Cybertruck. He still owns an Expedition, but he said it’s mostly because “when I take my dogs to the cabin, I don’t want them in my Cybertruck.”
He likes the interior too much. That’s ultimately what sold him on the Tesla truck. He’d put in a reservation after the reveal in 2019 because of the positive experience with the brand and service he and his wife had on a 2017 Model S. But the Cybertruck had left him disappointed since the self-described “truck guy” said, “It didn’t look like a truck.”
“I was upset,” he said. “Is this is a joke? What is this thing? It wasn’t appealing.”
He contemplated a Lightning, but a friend who got one returned it to the dealer after a couple of months for an internal combustion engine F-150 because of a significant loss of range while towing.
Eventually, Goodrich had the chance to hop into a Cybertruck at a nearby service center: “That was all I needed,” he said. “I sat in the back seat. This was a game-changer. In the pictures, it looked cramped, but it’s so big and roomy back there.”
Since getting his truck in March, he’s towed a 14-foot trailer with a golf cart and with a Polaris RZR off-road vehicle. The additional weight did impact the range, but not as much as he expected, and he was able to get to his cabin without having to stop and charge. He likened the impact to greater gas use on a traditional truck while towing.
“I had no problem and went uphill to Munds Park toward Flagstaff,” he said. “It handles great. As far as towing, I had to keep looking at the trailer to make sure the trailer was still there. It tows like my F-250.”
Owners who spoke with The Detroit News did say they have had service repairs for things like rattling noises on early production models. They’re waiting on new wheel covers after a recall. Goodrich got a clear wrap on his truck because the stainless steel showed finger prints like a refrigerator of the same material. Tesla, though, has responded to requests from truck enthusiasts, too, Goodrich noted. An over-the-air update shortly after he got his truck included locking differentials.
Electric trucks still are a small portion of the overall truck market, Libby noted. The pace of growth of EV volumes has slowed as the cost of the batteries and access to charging infrastructure challenges mass adoption, an issue affecting trucks to a greater extent than other segments because of their larger size.
“Hybrid is a great alternative, because the pricing is not that far from ICE vehicles, but yet you have the electrification,” Libby said. “So, we’re seeing more manufacturers offer hybrids.”
The Cybertruck has attracted new buyers to the truck segment like Joel Szirtes, 45, of Pleasant Ridge. He’s owned the Model S and X, but he loved the aesthetic of the Cybertruck and enjoys the steer-by-wire technology on the vehicle. He also now appreciates the capability, whether it’s taking his children to sports or the family is going camping.
“We have two bikes and all of our gear,” Szirtes said earlier this month when he and his wife drove in the truck for the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. With Tesla’s Supercharger network, “you don’t have to be stressed about a nine-hour drive.”
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