Tesla shares have tumbled 18% over the past week. This follows the company's second-quarter earnings report showing an adjusted earnings per share of $0.33, which fell short of market expectations. The company's free cash flow also turned negative, reaching -$1.09 billion.
The annual sales volume of the Cybertruck is only about one-sixth of Elon Musk's projected target of 250,000 units. Furthermore, among electric vehicle brands in the United States for 2025, it has experienced the steepest decline in sales.
Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) investors faced another significant setback last week, as ambitious goals appear to be morphing into a cautionary tale of failure. A report released by Bloomberg on July 22 indicated that the Tesla Motors Cybertruck pickup has surpassed the Ford Edsel in terms of the gap between its targets and actual sales, becoming a benchmark for commercial failure in the auto industry. Just hours later, Tesla Motors released its second-quarter earnings, which fell short of expectations, and its stock price endured its worst weekly performance since 2022.
The Edsel Yardstick
Ford introduced the Edsel in 1957, projecting first-year sales of 200,000 units. However, actual sales were less than one-third of that target. Its vertical grille, ridiculed for resembling a toilet seat, became synonymous with corporate failure—a reputation that has persisted for nearly seven decades.
Elon Musk set even higher ambitions. He predicted that Cybertruck annual sales could reach 250,000 units, calling it the "best product" Tesla Motors has ever made. Yet, in its first full year on the market, the pickup's sales were only about one-sixth of the target. Bloomberg's chart shows that in the second year, sales fell to well below 25,000 units, representing a steeper decline in volume compared to the Edsel.
Accelerating Decline
Data from Cox Automotive illustrates this trend. The Cybertruck sold 38,965 units in 2024, but 2025 sales dropped to 20,237 units, a year-over-year decrease of 48.1%. Sales in the fourth quarter of 2025 were 4,140 units, down 68.1% from the 12,991 units sold in the same period the previous year. Deliveries in the first quarter of 2026 reached a record low of just 3,519 units. According to data from S&P Global Mobility cited by Bloomberg, as of May 2026, only 7,133 Cybertrucks had been registered in the United States.
In 2025, the truck experienced the largest sales decline of any electric vehicle model in the U.S. In Tesla Motors' earnings reports, the Cybertruck is listed alongside the Model 3, Model Y, Model S, Model X, Cybercab, Semi, and Roadster, but it has not served as a growth driver in the company's most recent four quarterly reports.
Stock Plunge
The Cybertruck story is just one facet of the broader downturn at Tesla Motors. For the week ending July 24, 2026, Tesla Motors' stock price fell 17.81%, closing at $313.03. Following the earnings release, the stock experienced a single-day decline of up to 14%, hitting its lowest point in 11 months.
The second-quarter earnings report explains the market's reaction. Revenue reached $28.24 billion, a year-over-year increase of 25.52%, and deliveries set a record at 480,126 units. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.33, below the consensus market estimate of $0.5367. Operating income slumped 56.88% to $398 million, and free cash flow turned negative at -$1.09 billion. Operating expenses surged 47% to $4.35 billion, primarily driven by spending on AI infrastructure, research and development, and equity incentives. Full-year capital expenditures are expected to exceed $25 billion, allocated to Optimus, Cybercab, and AI data centers.
Short sellers profited $4.3 billion (on a mark-to-market basis) from the single-day sell-off. This wave of selling wiped out approximately $130 billion from Elon Musk's personal net worth.
Watch Guide
The stock has declined 30.39% year-to-date. Market forecasts suggest the share price will fluctuate in the $300 to $330 range through the end of the month, while the analyst consensus target price stands at $402.76. Whether the Cybertruck will become a classic like the Edsel remains an open question.
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