Last year, Tesla sold around 20,000, and it had a little bit of help that Edsel never did.
During Q4, almost 19 percent of all Cybertruck sales were to Musk-controlled companies.
Now, through half of 2026, it appears that Tesla is on pace for roughly 18,000 Cybertruck sales unless Musk's brands buy up plenty more or demand inexplicably jumps.
Innovation At The Wrong Price And Time
Both vehicles arrived with styling that immediately divided opinion. Both promised to redefine their respective segments.
And both were introduced with expectations that ultimately proved far too optimistic.
Yet dismissing either vehicle as simply a failure ignores what each brought to the table. The Edsel wasn't just remembered for its controversial grille.
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It also introduced genuinely forward-thinking ideas, including its steering-wheel-mounted Teletouch push-button transmission.
The system proved unreliable, but it represented the sort of ambitious thinking that's increasingly rare in the auto industry.
The Cybertruck deserves similar credit.
Setting Musk aside for a moment, Tesla's pickup is one of the boldest production vehicles we've seen in decades.
Its steer-by-wire system fundamentally changes the driving experience, making a full-size pickup feel unexpectedly agile while eliminating the traditional mechanical connection between the steering wheel and front axle.
Its 48-volt electrical architecture is another significant step forward, reducing wiring complexity and weight while laying the groundwork for future vehicle electronics.
Those aren't marketing gimmicks. They're genuine engineering advances that many competitors will likely adopt in one form or another.
