Is Tesla Cybertruck The Biggest Automotive Blunder In Decades After Ford’s Edsel? ‘It’s A Huge Swing And A Huge Miss,’ Says Expert

Tesla Inc.’s TSLA Cybertruck, a brainchild of Elon Musk, has been dubbed the auto industry’s most significant flop in decades, according to a report.

What Happened: The auto industry has seen many infamous flops, including Ford‘s F Edsel and Pinto, GM‘s GM Pontiac Aztek, and the Delorean DMC-12. Now, Musk’s Tesla Cybertruck is being added to that list of failures, according to Forbes. Musk’s angular pickup truck fell short of his ambitious sales target by a massive 84%, with no signs of a turnaround in sight.

The vehicle’s sales have drastically underperformed Musk’s predictions, and its quality reputation has been marred by eight recalls within the past 13 months. Despite Musk’s ambitious forecast of 250,000 annual sales, Tesla managed to sell just under 40,000 Cybertrucks in 2024, its inaugural year on the market. The sales trend has continued to dip in 2025, contributing to a 13% decline in Tesla’s overall sales in Q1.

Experts explained that the Cybertruck is either too big or doesn’t meet pedestrian safety regulations in certain countries, limiting its potential for increased sales through exports.

Eric Noble, president of CARLAB, likened the Cybertruck’s failure to Ford’s infamous Edsel, stating, “It’s right up there with Edsel”. “It’s a huge swing and a huge miss,” added Noble.

The Cybertruck’s flop is not solely due to poor sales and quality issues but is also attributed to Musk’s contentious politics and job-cutting role at DOGE, which have incited worldwide Tesla protests.

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Why It Matters: Despite Musk’s claim of over a million reservations for the Cybertruck, Tesla’s estimates of massive demand has proven to be misguided. The vehicle’s size and non-compliance with some countries’ pedestrian safety rules have curtailed its potential for overseas sales. Glenn Mercer, the head of Cleveland-based advisory firm GM Automotive, stated, “They haven’t sold a lot and it’s unlikely in this case that overseas markets can save them.”

Further, the Cybertruck’s sales have been adversely impacted by recall-related fixes, with a starting price of $82,000. Tesla’s overall sales have also taken a hit this year, with deliveries falling 13% in the first quarter to 337,000 units, significantly below consensus expectations of 408,000.

Earlier this year, Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, highlighted Tesla’s struggling Cybertruck sales in a social media post, noting figures significantly below company projections. “Tesla has sold only 47k Cybertrucks total according to the recall notice. This is really bad for a product that was supposed to sell 250k units a year,” Gerber wrote.

Tesla has a momentum rating of 93.32% and a quality rating of 97.03%, according to Benzinga’s Proprietary Edge Rankings. For an in-depth report on more stocks and insights into growth opportunities, sign up for Benzinga Edge.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.