More Tesla Trouble: 1 In 5 Cybertrucks Is Being Sold To Another Elon Musk Company

SpaceX accounted for more than 18% of all Cybertruck registrations in the US during the fourth quarter, according to S&P Global Mobility data.

That’s 1,279 of 7,071 Cybertrucks registered.

Other Musk-run companies, including xAI, Boring Co. and Neuralink, picked up another 60.

Without those inter-company transfers, Cybertruck registrations would have fallen 51% in Q4.

The purchases have continued into 2026, with another 225 units registered across January and February.

What SpaceX Is Doing With Them Is Unclear

Photos and video show long rows of idle Cybertrucks on SpaceX property in Texas.

The lead Cybertruck engineer posted in October that SpaceX was replacing gas-powered support vehicles.

At least some appear to be used for security. But why xAI, an AI and social media company, would need 50 electric pickups has not been explained.

The combined value of the purchases likely exceeds $100 million, based on the Cybertruck’s current starting price of roughly $70,000.

The Demand Problem Goes Deeper Than One Model

The Cybertruck is widely considered Tesla Inc’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) first commercial flop.

Musk predicted 250,000 units a year by 2025. The actual number was roughly 20,000, a 48% crash from 2024. Analyst Karl Brauer has said the truck that was supposed to be Tesla’s F-150 can now officially be considered a flop.

The weakness isn’t limited to one model. Tesla reported 358,023 total vehicle deliveries in Q1, a miss versus the Wall Street consensus of 365,645.

Across the entire lineup, the company built 50,363 more vehicles than it sold, the largest single-quarter inventory pileup in its history.

Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F) has already pulled the plug on the current-generation Lightning, announcing plans to replace it with a range-extender hybrid, signaling that the broader industry has taken notice of the demand problem.

Prediction Markets Are Pricing The Q2 Problem

On Polymarket, the Q2 2026 Tesla delivery market has the 375,000 to 400,000 bracket as the frontrunner at 28%, with 350,000 to 375,000 at 24% and 400,000 to 425,000 at 23%.

The three most likely outcomes all cluster below the pace Tesla needs to avoid a third straight annual decline.

To match 2025’s total, the company would need to average over 444,000 deliveries per quarter for the rest of the year. Bettors are giving that range just 14% combined.

TSLA is trading around $393, up roughly 7.6% on Wednesday and extending a five-day rally of about 12% that began after a UBS upgrade from Sell to Neutral on Monday. The stock is still down about 14% year-to-date.

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