Tesla has once again raised prices on two Cybertruck trims, bumping the prices of two trims by US$5,000: the entry-level Dual Motor version to US$74,990 and the Premium All-Wheel Drive trim to US$84,990. The top-tier Cyberbeast held steady at US$99,990.

Pricing for Tesla’s struggling pick-up has been volatile for much of 2026. In February, the automaker introduced a promotional US$59,990 Dual Motor variant, but this price would not last, and Chief Executive Elon Musk confirmed during the launch that it would remain in place for only ten days before being adjusted to match demand. Tesla subsequently raised that trim by US$10,000 in March and removed its leasing option; the latest increase now puts the entry price US$15,000 above February’s launch level.

The Dual Motor AWD offers an estimated 325 miles of range along with adaptive damping suspension, a powered tonneau cover and bed-mounted Powershare outlets, although its 7,500 lb towing capacity trails the Premium trim’s 11,000 lb rating. Tesla does not report Cybertruck deliveries separately, though Cox Automotive estimates that its US sales fell 32.2% year-over-year to just 7,263 units during H1 2026. This comes on top of a drop from roughly 39,000 units in 2024 to about 20,200 in 2025, placing the pick-up far short of the 250,000 annual deliveries Musk once projected.

With volumes still well short of its initial target, Tesla’s price increases likely help offset its weaker economies of scale. Factor in rising material costs and a pressing need to protect company margins, and it is little mystery why the Cybertruck remains on the market with rising sticker prices rather than persistent discounts. Now, Tesla appears to be positioning the model as a lower-volume, higher-priced vehicle within the premium segment. This is a market to which it no longer has much exposure, given that it discontinued the Models S and X earlier in 2026 to reallocate production lines for the Cybercab and Optimus robot.  

Outright discontinuing the Cybertruck—broadly regarded as one of the industry’s largest-ever flops—would be uniquely painful for Tesla, since it has sunk significant capital into specialised gigapresses and dedicated tooling specifically for it. Discontinuation would also mean immediate write-offs and idle factory capacity with no replacement ready. In theory, even reduced sales volumes at the latest prices can still generate positive per-unit margin. Keeping it, for better or worse, also maintains its function as a highly-visible marketing asset for Tesla’s brand image.

Of course, there is a less purely financial explanation for why Tesla continues to insist on a vehicle that has fallen so far below its original targets. The Cybertruck’s design has become intimately tied to Musk’s—and therefore Tesla’s—public identity as an industry disruptor. Musk has said previously that he conducted no customer research before settling on the vehicle’s angular, stainless-steel design, and has continued publicly defending it, at one point calling it the “best product ever made”. 

Such grandiose claims are in spite of the exceptionally poor sales and widespread reports of quality control issues that dented the Cybertruck’s reputation as it tried to make a splash in the US. Whichever explanation carries more weight—manufacturing investments or personal pride—the Cybertruck has already failed. It was envisioned as a mass-market pick-up that would revolutionise how consumers see electric vehicles; instead it is being shored up as a widely-disliked halo product for a small niche of premium buyers.