Musk's Companies Bought Nearly One-Fifth of All Cybertrucks Sold Last Quarter

SpaceX purchased 1,279 Cybertrucks in the fourth quarter of 2025, accounting for more than 18% of all Tesla Cybertruck registrations in the United States during that period, according to S&P Global Mobility data reported by Bloomberg. Other companies owned by Elon Musk—xAI, the Boring Company, and Neuralink—acquired an additional 60 units, bringing Musk-controlled enterprises to approximately 20% of total US Cybertruck registrations. The purchases, totaling over $100 million at base pricing, highlight the struggling demand for Tesla's polarizing vehicle as sales continue to collapse.

The Details

Registration data from S&P Global Mobility shows that just 7,071 Cybertrucks were registered in the US during Q4 2025—a quarter when SpaceX's purchase alone represented one-fifth of sales. This concentration raises questions about the health of Tesla's Cybertruck program at a moment when the company is increasingly reliant on its own supply chain to prop up vehicle sales figures.

The SpaceX purchases first surfaced in December 2025 when Electrek reported that the aerospace company had bought more than 1,000 units and could potentially scale purchases to 2,000. SpaceX cited fleet replacement as the justification for the acquisition, with Tesla Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill posting on X that replacing internal combustion engine support vehicles with Cybertrucks was "always part of the dream." Yet the sheer volume—1,279 trucks in a single quarter—exceeds what SpaceX's operational needs reasonably require, creating speculation that the purchases also serve as an internal subsidy for Tesla's struggling sales.

The timing matters. Q4 2025 followed the September 2025 expiration of the federal $7,500 EV tax credit, which triggered a sharp industry-wide sales decline after a Q3 pull-forward effect. Tesla's US vehicle sales dropped to a four-year low in November 2025, with the company delivering just 39,800 vehicles—a 23% year-over-year decline. The broader slowdown was attributed partly to lost tax incentives and partly to public backlash following Musk's high-profile political involvement.

Cybertruck sales, in particular, have underperformed dramatically. Tesla sold approximately 20,000 Cybertrucks throughout all of 2025—just 8% of Musk's late-2023 prediction that the company would reach 250,000 annual units. Through the first nine months of 2025, Tesla had registered only 16,097 Cybertrucks, a 38% decline from the same period in 2024 when 25,974 units were registered. The vehicle has been hampered by eight recalls addressing design defects, criticism over its significantly reduced range compared to advertisements, and pricing that launched at roughly double the vehicle's original promised $39,900 base price.

Tesla's corporate opacity around Cybertruck sales complicates independent verification. The company does not break out Cybertruck numbers in quarterly earnings reports, instead bundling them with Model S and Model X sales. This means registration data from S&P Global Mobility and estimates from Cox Automotive have become the primary sources for tracking actual sales performance—data revealing a vehicle that has largely failed to find a mass market.

Photographs of hundreds of Cybertrucks parked at SpaceX's Starbase facility in South Texas have circulated widely, supporting the claim that the aerospace company is deploying the vehicles as support fleets. However, the gap between SpaceX's operational justifications and the scale of purchases suggests sales considerations also played a role in the decision.

Context

The Cybertruck's journey from concept to commercial failure represents one of Tesla's most significant stumbles. When unveiled in November 2019, Musk promised a vehicle starting at $39,900—an aggressive price point that appealed to the mass market. Production versions, however, launched at approximately $80,000, instantly alienating budget-conscious buyers and narrowing the addressable market to luxury segments already saturated by established competitors.

Tesla's broader sales picture darkened throughout 2025. Global deliveries fell to 1.63 million units, down from 1.78 million in 2024 and 1.81 million in 2023. The decline accelerated competitive displacement: BYD overtook Tesla as the world's largest automaker by total EV sales for the first time, signaling a fundamental shift in market dynamics. The US market, historically Tesla's stronghold, became increasingly challenged as competitors brought superior range, lower prices, and more mature designs to market.

The September 2025 expiration of the federal EV tax credit removed a key purchasing incentive at precisely the moment Tesla's pricing-to-value proposition was weakening. New and cheaper Tesla variants launched by the company—positioning them as entry-level options—instead cannibalized sales of premium versions, particularly the Model 3, according to Cox Automotive analyst Stephanie Valdez Streaty. By November 2025, Tesla was offering 0% financing deals, a traditional sign of demand collapse in the auto industry.

California's regulatory pressure on Tesla over misleading "Autopilot" marketing claims added reputational damage in late 2025, threatening potential sales restrictions. The cumulative effect left Tesla searching for sales anywhere it could find them—including, apparently, from its own corporate ecosystem.

What's Next

Registration data will continue to reveal whether Musk-controlled enterprises further increase Cybertruck purchases in Q1 2026 or pull back. If large internal purchases continue, the trend will cement questions about demand authenticity and raise investor concerns about whether Tesla can sell Cybertrucks at scale without internal assistance. Industry analysts and short-sellers will likely scrutinize future registration figures for signs of ongoing company purchases.

Tesla's near-term path depends on whether new Cybertruck variants or design revisions can reverse the sales collapse. The company has already scrapped its entry-level variant after just five months of availability, suggesting difficulty in executing a broader product strategy. How Musk's companies are actually using the Cybertrucks they purchased—whether genuinely as fleet vehicles or stored as a form of financial support—will become clearer through observation over the coming quarters.