The Tesla Cybertruck is becoming the U.S. best-selling all-electric pickup truck. Because the manufacturer does not report the results of individual models, we can't say for sure, but some data indicates that the Cybertruck won in the second quarter of 2024.
In this post, we will try to check what we know about the pickup sales and what they mean for the Model S and Model X, as the duo might be in trouble.
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Electric pickup competition ramp-ups
In 2024, the number of all-electric pickup trucks available in the U.S. increased to several models. Besides of the Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Lightning and GMC Hummer EV Pickup, customers can also buy the Tesla Cybertruck and Chevrolet Silverado EV, which is soon to be joined by the GMC Sierra EV. An electric Ram is just around the corner.
The Ford F-150 Lightning continued to be the best-selling electric truck in the U.S. during the first half of the year with 15,645 units, which Ford confirmed in its press release. In Q2, the company sold 7,902 units, the number to beat. The Rivian R1T and Chevrolet Silverado EV sales were lower. How about the Cybertruck, then?
Tesla announced that its deliveries of "other models" (including Model S, Model X, Cybertruck, and potentially the Semi) in Q2 amounted to 21,551 and were 12% higher than a year ago when only Model S and Model X were sold.
Because all three vehicles are lumped together, we don't know how many Cybertrucks were delivered in Q2. More than 7,902 would have made the Cybertruck the top pickup during the quarter.
Some say that that's the case, using the number of recalled Cybertrucks as a proxy. As we reported in June, Tesla recalled 11,688 pickups due to the "giga wiper" issue and 11,383 trucks due to the bed trim falling off while the vehicle was in motion. The previous recall from April, related to the accelerator pedal, concerned only 3,878 vehicles. The difference between the first and two following recalls is up to 7,810 units (produced between April 4 and June 6). That almost matches the Ford F-150 Lightning's 7,902 in Q2, and we still have to add a few days in early April and most of June.
The recall numbers suggest that in Q2 Tesla potentially produced up to roughly 12,000 Tesla Cybertrucks, although we don't know how many were delivered to compare with the Ford F-150 Lightning's sales.
Tesla's official Cybertruck channel (@cybertruck / X) picked up the circling news about the Tesla Cybertruck being the best-selling electric pickup, so we can assume that the estimates might be more or less correct.
However, if Tesla really delivered 8,000 or more Cybertrucks in the U.S. during the second quarter, what does it mean for the Model S/Model X duo? It would leave only about 13,551 units for the Model S/Model X globally (for a total of 21,551).
If true, then the Model S/Model X's volume was down roughly 30% year-over-year. If Cybertruck deliveries were closer to 10,000, then the Model S/Model X's drop would have to be 40% year-over-year. At 12,000, it would be a 50% drop—in this example, the scale of decline is too high to believe that 12,000 Cybertruck deliveries were true.
Either way, it's a bittersweet outcome for Tesla.
It seems that Tesla had some reasons to create the "other models" category, which replaced the Model S/Model X category. This category not only hides the Cybertruck's sales number during ramp-up but can also hide the decrease in Model S/Model X sales estimated above.
Anyway, we will see who comes out on top later, either through registration numbers or manufacturer press releases.
