Robotaxi reports.

Cybertruck shift added before Cybercab expansion

Elon Musk filled in details of Tesla's factory plan in posts on X on Saturday, November 7. He wrote that the Cybertruck order backlog is far more than Tesla can make before the line is dismantled for Cybercab expansion around June or July next year, and that Tesla will add an extra shift to try to complete all orders in time. In a second post he said efficiency improvements will allow a 40 kWh Cybercab battery pack and that the car will be made in liquid silver. He argued that Tesla has a limited number of dedicated engineers and cannot spend them, or factory space and machinery, on a complex Cybertruck line while scaling the Cybercab. A Tesla-focused account relaying the post put the current pack at 47.6 kWh; that figure came from the account, not from Tesla.

The posts build on Musk's statement late on November 5 that Tesla will wind down Cybertruck production at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of next year. CNBC reported that Musk did not say whether the truck would be built elsewhere. Tesla does not report sales by model, but Cox Automotive estimated U.S. Cybertruck sales at 20,237 in 2025, down 48% from 38,965 in 2024, against Musk's earlier prediction of 250,000 a year. CNBC also cited NHTSA data showing 11 voluntary recalls of the 2024 model year.

Yahoo Finance described the Cybercab as entering production earlier this year in what it called a relatively small program, with installed capacity listed by Tesla at more than 125,000 units. It said paid Cybercab rides began in a small Austin fleet in September, and that roughly 570 of more than 1,200 Tesla robotaxis in Texas are Cybercabs, according to the state's DMV. Registry entries measure authorization, not vehicles carrying passengers.

Musk's backlog claim sits beside sales estimates well below that scale, since a backlog larger than eight months of remaining output implies orders outstanding well above recent annual deliveries. Tesla has not published an order count. What the posts do establish is the sequence Musk intends: Cybertruck output continues, with an added shift, for roughly eight more months, and the line is then removed rather than shared. A 40 kWh pack, if it reaches production, would reduce battery content per car; Musk gave no date for the change.

What to watch next for Cybercab

The factory plan arrives while the Cybercab's federal status is under review. NHTSA's Special Order asked Tesla for sworn answers to 21 questions on how it certified the car against federal safety standards. Electrek reported that Tesla met the October 30 deadline with a one-page letter stating that the entire file is confidential business information. The public docket holds that letter, an empty placeholder for the response on how compliance was determined, and a first-responder interaction plan. NHTSA's Chief Counsel can accept or reject the confidentiality claim; it had not ruled, and had not found the Cybercab noncompliant with any standard. The audit covers about 1,000 vehicles.

Tesla said on its October 21 earnings call, according to its Form 8-K filing index, which lists the results filing of that date, that Cybercab service would start in Dallas in November; it has not named a day. Elsewhere in the industry, Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said, in a report carried by Yahoo Finance, that Uber expects about 700 robotaxis on its platform by year-end, with driverless Zoox vehicles arriving in Las Vegas later in November and Bay Area commercial service planned for early next year.