Tesla Adds Shift Before Cybertruck Line Ends in Texas

By Daniel Okafor

Tesla will dismantle its Texas Cybertruck production line around June or July, Elon Musk said, after adding an extra shift to try to complete outstanding orders. The move follows Tesla's decision to end Cybertruck production at the plant next summer.

Reuters reported that Musk announced the extra shift on X one day after saying Tesla would pull the plug on the model at the Texas factory. He wrote that the company will “add an extra shift to try to get all orders done in time.” In the same post, Musk said the backlog was “far more than Tesla can make” before the shutdown.

That sequence addresses a narrow operating problem: Tesla expects more orders than the current line can complete before its removal. The extra shift adds short-term labor capacity without changing the eventual destination of the factory space. Reuters described Musk's framing as a positive spin on the model's ending.

How large is the backlog?

Tesla does not disclose Cybertruck order numbers, so the size of the backlog remains unknown. Musk's statement establishes only that outstanding orders exceed what Tesla can manufacture before production stops. It does not provide a unit count, delivery schedule or amount of revenue tied to those orders.

Kelley Blue Book reported U.S. Cybertruck sales of about 20,000 last year, down from nearly 39,000 in 2024. That decline of roughly 49% shows how quickly the model's U.S. market contracted. Musk once projected 250,000 Cybertruck sales per year. The latest sales figure is roughly 92% below that forecast.

Annual sales and the order backlog measure different things. Sales capture vehicles sold during a period; the backlog contains orders awaiting production. The falling sales total therefore does not prove the backlog is shrinking. Tesla can end a production line while still carrying more orders than it can fulfill before the line disappears.

The combination gives investors a sharper operational picture. Tesla plans more production time for Cybertruck, but only on a temporary basis. The company then removes the line and redirects the space. The extra shift is not a reversal of the production strategy Musk has set out.

Why end Cybertruck production?

Reuters said the stainless-steel pickup has also faced recalls and quality complaints since it went on the road in late 2023. Those problems have accompanied falling U.S. sales and a planned production wind-down. The report does not establish recalls or complaints as the cause of either the sales decline or Musk's decision to end the line.

Once the Cybertruck line comes down around June or July, Tesla will use the space for Cybercab. Musk describes the Cybercab as a two-seat robotaxi and the company's future. The shift is therefore a reallocation of assembly capacity, not a simple contraction of Tesla's Texas operation.

The added shift can extend Cybertruck output by an undisclosed period before dismantling begins. Its purpose, in Musk's words, is to try to complete the orders already on hand. The measure still leaves Tesla facing the same end date, with Cybercab replacing the pickup in the factory plan.

What should investors watch?

The key execution test is whether Tesla can convert the backlog into completed trucks before the June or July transition. Musk has promised an extra shift, but he has not supplied the order total or a completion target. Tesla also has not said how many workers the extra shift will add or how much output it can produce.

That leaves two outcomes inside the same plan. A successful run would allow Tesla to reduce the order overhang before ending the model. A short run would leave more of that work unresolved, although the source provides no basis for estimating how many vehicles would remain unfinished.

Musk's earlier 250,000 annual forecast now sits beside reported U.S. sales of about 20,000 vehicles last year. The added shift does not erase that gap. It gives Tesla a final attempt to serve current buyers while the Texas factory prepares for the two-seat Cybercab that Musk wants to build next.