Good Riddance to the Cybertruck, the Chariot of the Dumbest Gods

Tesla’s decision to end Cybertruck production after selling about 70,000 vehicles marks the retreat of a project Elon Musk once predicted would sell 250,000 a year. The truck is presented as a fitting symbol of an anxious, speculative era: an electric vehicle styled like a military machine, marketed through futuristic spectacle, and designed to appeal to fears about crime and climate change as well as sci-fi and crypto culture. Its grand promises were not matched by practical performance. Owners and reviewers reported software and electrical failures, water-related shutdowns, poor build quality, and an awkward shape that limited hauling and towing. Tesla also recalled 46,000 trucks after a side panel risked coming loose in cold weather.

The Cybertruck’s meaning became more politically charged as Musk backed Donald Trump, then led the Department of Governmental Efficiency, whose cuts disrupted agencies and dismantled USAID. Some owners distanced themselves from Musk with apologetic bumper stickers, while others embraced the truck as a political statement. The writer sees this outcome as consistent with Musk’s pattern of extravagant claims, including past promises of fully autonomous cross-country driving that remain unrealized. Though the Cybertruck may eventually become scrap, Musk and his companies are expected to remain wealthy and supported by public money. Its decline offers a faint hope that future generations will regard it as a relic of a destructive period - and that useful technological advances might someday serve the public rather than enrich monopolies.