Tesla is giving up on the Cybertruck, but some want to keep it alive
Unplugged Performance, a California-based tuner famous for its aesthetic and performance kits based on Tesla vehicles, has a clear plan to save the Cybertruck. On November 7, it posted an open offer on X to take over the production line that Tesla, according to Elon Musk, will begin phasing out by mid-2027.
The company would manage production at no cost to Tesla, which in return would receive a licensing fee and a share of the revenue generated by FSD and the Robotaxi network from each vehicle built. “We want to keep the Cybertruck program alive,” said Ben Schaffer, founder of Unplugged Performance.
Unplugged Performance wants to acquire Cybertruck production
Tesla has not publicly accepted the proposal, funded by a consortium of investors; it remains merely an expression of interest at this stage, not a formal agreement. Unplugged Performance clarified that the initiative is intended to assess potential partners’ interest and does not constitute an offer to sell shares or an acceptance of funds.
Tesla Cybertruck Sting by Unplugged Performance and Archimedes Defense
Photo by: Unplugged Performance
The plan doesn’t stop at the Cybertruck: the company also has a three-row SUV and a driverless delivery vehicle called CyberCargo in development. However, among these offerings, the Cybercab would have priority access to battery cells, while the vehicles from the Cybertruck program would use the remaining capacity — the same space Tesla currently aims to free up for robotaxis.
Tesla Cybertruck: The Numbers Behind the Production Cut
Tesla had planned to produce 250,000 Cybertruck units per year, but it currently sells only 12% of that amount. In the third quarter, the company delivered 8,295 vehicles under the “Other Models” category, of which an estimated 7,000–8,000 were Cybertrucks nearing production end.
Photo Gallery: Tesla Cybertruck
A significant portion of those sales comes from just one customer: S&P Global Mobility reported that SpaceX purchased 1,279 Cybertrucks in the fourth quarter of 2025, accounting for 18% of all U.S. registrations during that period. Giga Texas, the facility spanning over 10 million square feet where Tesla has already shifted some production to round-the-clock operations, allocates only a quarter of its installed capacity of 125,000 units per year to the Cybertruck.
If the Cybercab, the robotaxi vehicle that Musk claims requires that space to grow, truly takes over the production line currently used for the pickup, the same question remains: who else, besides Unplugged Performance, would be willing to acquire it before Tesla decides to shut it down permanently?
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