Yahoo Autos Tesla's trailblazing Cybertruck hits Canada as American orders cool
Despite early Tesla predictions that the Cybertruck would sell 250,000 units per year, demand has appeared to dried up in the US market. After selling roughly 40,000 trucks, the backlog is empty.
As a reminder, the Cybertruck has been in production for just around a year – deliveries began November 30th, 2023. Today, you can order a Cybertruck with virtually no wait in the US. Meanwhile, Tesla moves focus to pushing metal in the Great White North.
Cybertrucks start appearing on Canadian Tesla stores; pricing from $138K CAD
Since yesterday, the internet has been flooded with Canadian Cybertruck sightings as the automaker ships sold units to their respective Tesla stores. Canadian shoppers are still limited to ordering the limited-production Foundation Series Cybertruck model. It starts at $137,990 CAD, which is about equivalent of the truck’s $102,000 USD pricing when it debuted Stateside.
Stepping up to the lunatic tri-motor Cyberbeast requires parting with $165,990 of your hard earned Canadian dollars. Tesla claims the truck will achieve a slightly lower range than the lower powered version. In exchange, drivers get to sprint from zero to 60 mph in a Tesla-quoted 2.7 seconds, 845 horsepower, and a top speed of 130 mph.
There’s no firm date on when Tesla might start offering the lower-trim of the Cybertruck to Canadian shoppers. But, if the US timeline holds true for the Canadian market, regular Cybertrucks will start to enter the market late next year. Since production is already ready to go, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a bit quicker timeline – especially since demand will likely be overall lower.
Related: Love it, hate it? How about its maker? NYT dissects the cultural effect of the Cybertruck
EVs are more popular in Canada than you might think; but maybe not the Cybertruck
While the Canadian market is obviously smaller than the US car market, there’s more to the story. The first four months of 2024 saw a 75 percent uptick year-over-year in PHEV registrations and a 57 percent increase in battery electric vehicle registrations.
As with the States, Canada’s government offers rebates that help offset the cost of EVs. Particularly in Quebec – which offers up to $7,000 for qualified purchases – shoppers can save a lot on an EV purchase. While its high MSRP excludes the Cybertruck from most of those benefits, it is apparently eligible for a $10,000 fleet rebate for businesses.
That said, we still aren’t sure the Cybertruck will enjoy widespread popularity in Canada. No firm numbers have been released regarding Canadian reservations. But the number certainly seems to be low, since I can order today and – according to Tesla - I can be driving my Cybertruck before the end of the year.
Final thoughts
Regardless of how many Cybertrucks will or won’t sell in Canada, running through the entire US Cybertruck waitlist – and selling 40,000 units - in under a year is admittedly impressive. But, it’s likely a bit disappointing for the EV manufacturer. Especially when you remember Musk’s claims that the company had "more orders of the first Cybertrucks than we could possibly fulfill for three years after the start of production” back in May of 2022. Maybe the Cybertruck will sell better than that remark has aged.
Related: Tesla wants to change the industry standard in manufacturing
