On Monday, Siddhant Awasthi, the project leader for Tesla's Cybertruck electric pickup truck, announced his departure on LinkedIn.
Awasthi revealed that he is leaving Tesla after working for the company for more than eight years, but did not mention the reasons for his departure or his next move. His departure further exacerbates the personnel turmoil at Tesla this year, with more than ten executives leaving since 2025.
One fact that must be mentioned is that the Tesla Cybertruck has been recalled ten times in less than two years since its launch, and its sales have also fallen short of expectations.
In October of this year, Tesla announced a recall of 6,197 Cybertruck electric pickup trucks due to a potential installation defect in the off-road light strips, which could detach and cause traffic accidents. Tesla has not yet received any reports of accidents or injuries related to this defect. This is the tenth recall for the Cybertruck in less than two years since its launch.
In March of this year, Tesla recalled 46,096 Cybertruck vehicles in the United States to address an issue where exterior trim panels could detach while driving. After-sales service will replace the roof side beam assembly free of charge. Reportedly, because the Cybertruck's seemingly sleek stainless steel exterior is secured with adhesive, this adhesive can become brittle and fail in extremely cold weather, causing the trim panels to detach, necessitating this large-scale recall. In addition, this model has previously been recalled due to issues with the wiper motor, drive inverter, and software errors.
According to the U.S. recall document released in March of this year, the Cybertruck's cumulative production reached 46,096 units from its launch in November 2023 to the beginning of this year. Cybertruck registrations in the U.S. plummeted by approximately 63% year-on-year in the third quarter of this year, to only 5,385 units. In the first nine months of this year, cumulative deliveries totaled 16,097 units, a 38% decrease compared to the same period in 2024. This falls far short of CEO Elon Musk's earlier target of 250,000 to 500,000 units per year.
This has led to increased inventory pressure, and in response to weak demand, Tesla has offered discounts of up to $3,000 to $10,000 on the Cybertruck in its showrooms.
Tesla's earnings report released last month showed that the company's net profit in the third quarter fell 37% year-on-year, from $2.2 billion in the same period last year to $1.4 billion, and earnings per share fell from $0.62 to $0.39. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter of profit decline for Tesla.
