Unplugged Performance, a leading company in Tesla after-sales modification, hopes to keep the Cybertruck project alive. The company publicly stated on Tuesday that it is willing to take over the Cybertruck production line from Tesla with the support of an investor consortium.

Just four days ago, Elon Musk stated that Tesla would gradually cease production of the Cybertruck model at its Gigafactory in Texas around mid-2027. Based on Tesla's original plan to produce 250,000 units per year, the sales volume of this truck has only reached approximately 12% of that target.

This proposal

UP released this proposal on platform X, calling it an "open offer to Tesla." The company stated that it fully supports the priority development of Cybercab and claimed that it will operate Cybertruck production in a way that "does not increase Tesla's burden in terms of factory space occupation, staff allocation, or management focus."

In exchange, Tesla will charge a licensing fee for each vehicle produced, as well as revenue from the FSD and Robotaxi networks. UP even indicates that it is possible to give Cybercab priority in obtaining battery cell quotas. The company stated, "We are willing to wait in line for that."

UP founder Ben Schaffer has clearly stated that he supports Tesla's full commitment to autonomous driving, but he also hopes that the Cybertruck project can continue.

Moreover, the plans for UP are not limited to this pickup truck. The company stated that it will also produce Cybertruck, a three-row "CyberSUV", as well as an unmanned "CyberCargo" freight vehicle model. Tesla has occasionally mentioned these two vehicles, but has never officially released them.

This matter is of vital importance to UP. The company sells a complete range of Cybertruck products, including the UP Invincible upgrade kits and armor kits, and has also secured multiple contracts to modify Cybertruck into police cars for law enforcement agencies. The CEO, Ben Schaffer, has described the company's mission as being to do "what Tesla might want to do but doesn't have the resources to accomplish." This time, it can be said that they have taken this idea to its extreme.

The reasons given by Musk and the real reasons

Elon Musk attributed the end of the Cybertruck project to space-related issues. He stated that Tesla needed to “make room to increase the production of Cybercab.”

If the Cybertruck project is successful, Tesla wouldn't have cut it off. Tesla also produces Model Y at its superfactory in Texas, but they didn't stop that production line in order to make space for Cybercab.

As reported by Electrek when Tesla announced its gradual phase-out, this explanation is not tenable. The Texas Gigafactory has a manufacturing area of over 10 million square feet, and the production line Cybertruck is operating at only about a quarter of its capacity of 125,000 vehicles per year. As of the end of October, there were also only a few hundred Cybercab vehicles registered in Texas.

The real problem lies with the buyers. In the third quarter, Tesla delivered 8,295 units of "other models," and Electrek estimates that 7,000 to 8,000 of these were Cybertruck, which translates to an annualized rate of about 30,000 units. This can already be considered a decent quarter by Cybertruck standards.

Even so, there is an element of exaggeration in this figure. Data from S&P Global Mobility (S& P Global Mobility) shows that SpaceX purchased 1,279 units of Cybertruck in the fourth quarter of 2025, which accounted for about 18% of the total registrations in the United States that quarter. Tesla also attempted to launch a cheaper rear-wheel-drive version, but later canceled it; subsequently, they introduced a all-wheel-drive version priced at $60,000 and raised the price by $5,000 in August. However, none of these measures were able to address the demand issue.

Electrek Perspective

I have to admit that there is one aspect of the proposal UP that is certainly worth recognizing: it exposes the lies of Musk. If Cybertruck was indeed terminated because Cybercab needed more space, then now there are people who have volunteered to take over that production line from Tesla. It seems that the problem would be solved then.

Of course, things are not that simple.

There are many possibilities for this to fail, and it might not even happen in the first place, but there is indeed a slim chance that it could happen, so it's not entirely impossible.

Most people have never driven a Cybertruck, but its linear control steering makes it incredibly addictive to drive. Although the price is on the higher side, considering the very limited options available for electric pickups currently, its cost-performance ratio in terms of parameter configuration is not bad at all.

In other words, I wouldn't necessarily assert that this attempt will definitely fail, especially if they add the SUV version and make some adjustments and investments to the entire project.

I can imagine that a group of wealthy Cybertruck enthusiasts might raise funds under the banner of Unplugged to make this happen, but getting Tesla to agree might be very difficult. It's not entirely without precedent for car manufacturers to sell a model project to dealers; for example, with Lotus Seven and Studebaker Avanti, but on such a scale, it would be a first.

You can also understand the relationship between UP and Tesla as the same as the relationship between AMG and Mercedes-Benz. Considering that UP is not just an ordinary Tesla tuner, this analogy is not too far-fetched. It has even collaborated with this automaker to develop its own version of Model S Plaid.

If UP can play a role for Tesla in the future that AMG plays for Mercedes, then it might make sense for it to manage a vehicle model project that originated from Tesla but exists independently. However, even as I write these words, I am aware that the likelihood of this actually happening is still very small.

But I still wish them good luck, and I'm also happy to see that Cybertruck continues to live on.

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