Tesla pushing Model X customers to Cybertruck?

[Tecyber1]

New S and X coming soon.

Refreshed interior with New interior ambient lighting, new hairpin motors, more range, refreshed headlights/tail lights, steer by wire (hopefully)

long past time too…the premier models have sat ignored while the cheap stuff got refreshed!

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[Guylouis]

long past time too…the premier models have sat ignored while the cheap stuff got refreshed!

I do wish they followed a similar pattern to legacy Auto where they refresh their flagship model and then work down the line

 

[Tecyber1]

I do wish they followed a similar pattern to legacy Auto where they refresh their flagship model and then work down the line

I agree but it did make sense to refresh the more approachable models but to ignore your flagship is straight stupidity but speaks to their inability to scale!

 

[Crissa]

why people who don't/never own Tesla vehicles want to talk & speculate on Tesla's business strategy?

Why would you need to own a Tesla to comment on their strategy? You don't need to own a Tesla to own stock, either. Or to work there. Or to be impacted by their decisions.

I agree but it did make sense to refresh the more approachable models but to ignore your flagship is straight stupidity but speaks to their inability to scale!

It's more a decision not to. Elon originally spoke of refining the technology - but that was a decade ago. He hasn't since.

But the newest computers and cameras do go into their flagship models first.

I do wish they followed a similar pattern to legacy Auto where they refresh their flagship model and then work down the line

I agree. It would drive sales - and lower their costs for the top end models to integrate the new optimized technology.

-Crissa

 

[ABILISK]

People buying the X don't qualify for the credit. If they do their priorities are reversed.

Idk, I qualify for it and I bought a CB. I make ~$105K but have a lot of savings/smart investments. Could have gone with either Plaid model or the beast. It was an obvious choice for me. Maybe I’m irresponsible buying a car that costs close to my annual salary, but life is too short to worry about such things. I put a good chunk down and can afford the payments.

 

[CyberZephyr]

It's also for the Model S. Not a Tesla App states that they added incentives, free supercharging and premium connectivity, and that they could possibly be planning to phase them out.

 

[dalton108]

It's also for the Model S. Not a Tesla App states that they added incentives, free supercharging and premium connectivity, and that they could possibly be planning to phase them out.

I believe the S & X are at end of production.

I also believe that Tesla and more specifically Elon believed that the CT was going to be their new flagship. The market has not agreed so far.

He did say it was going to be the best car their best car. I, for one, agree.

I also think the Apple Vision Pro is *their* best product ever.

I’m not your average consumer. I am blessed and thankful to be able to afford and appreciate these engineering marvels.

 

[dalton108]

Boy! Pondering this really sent me down a rabbit hole!

First, it got me thinking about just the difference in quality of life that we have over any monarch who isn’t also currently living. Chat put it thusly:

“No king, president, or billionaire in 1984 had access to what you casually own today. The amount of computational power and real-world utility packed into your devices is beyond what even the Pentagon or NASA had at the time.”

Then, I started thinking about just how dramatically different things are from when I was in middle/high school. 1984. What if I was in my 50s then and had similar buying power what would that look like? Well, according to chat it would look like this:

To match the functionality of your Apple Vision Pro and Cybertruck Cyberbeast in 1984, you would have had to spend:

• Apple Vision Pro (1984 Equivalent)
• 1984 Cost: $30,995
• 2024 Inflation-Adjusted Cost: $89,575

• Cybertruck Cyberbeast (1984 Equivalent)
• 1984 Cost: $246,495
• 2024 Inflation-Adjusted Cost: $712,370

The cost difference is staggering. Even with inflation, you’d have needed to spend over $800,000 in today’s dollars to approximate the technology and capabilities of just these two modern devices. And that’s with multiple separate machines cobbled together—whereas today, you have a sleek, integrated package that far surpasses those 1984 alternatives in capability.

======================================================

Breakdown:

Apple Vision Pro (1TB) – $3,899 (2024)

To match its functionality in 1984, you would have needed:
• Macintosh 128K – $2,495
(Closest consumer computer at the time, but nowhere near Vision Pro’s power.)
• Sony Trinitron 25” TV – $1,000
(High-end display closest to Vision Pro’s immersive screen.)
• Pioneer LaserDisc Player – $1,000
(High-quality media playback, though far less convenient than Vision Pro.)
• Sony Walkman TPS-L2 – $200
(Portable audio equivalent, though just for music.)
• JVC VHS Camcorder – $1,300
(Video recording equivalent, much bulkier.)
• Kodak Early Digital Camera (Prototype-Level Tech) – $25,000
(Vision Pro has multiple high-quality cameras—closest equivalent in 1984 was prohibitively expensive.)

Total 1984 Cost: $30,995
Inflation-Adjusted to 2024: $89,575

Cybertruck Cyberbeast – $120,000 (2024)

To match its functionality in 1984, you would have needed:
• Lamborghini Countach LP500S – $100,000
(Closest equivalent in terms of futuristic high-performance design.)
• DeLorean DMC-12 – $25,000
(Stainless steel, gullwing doors, but far less capable.)
• 4x4 Off-Road Truck – $15,000
(To match Cybertruck’s off-road capabilities.)
• Personal Computer (for navigation & automation control) – $2,495
(Needed just to handle Cybertruck-like computing power.)
• Military-Grade GPS System – $100,000
(Consumer GPS wasn’t available in 1984, and equivalent systems cost a fortune.)
• Cellular Car Phone – $4,000
(Early mobile communication, barely comparable to Cybertruck’s connectivity.)

Total 1984 Cost: $246,495
Inflation-Adjusted to 2024: $712,370

Key Takeaways
• To approximate the Apple Vision Pro, you’d have needed nearly $90,000 in today’s money, spread across six separate devices that still wouldn’t match its power.
• To approximate the Cybertruck Cyberbeast, you’d have needed $712,000 in today’s money, spread across six vehicles and devices, and you still wouldn’t have self-driving, electric power, or modern software integration.
• Combined cost (1984 equivalent, adjusted to 2024): $801,945

Modern tech is absurdly cheap in comparison. What once required a fortune and multiple dedicated machines now fits in a single device—or, in the case of Cybertruck, a single vehicle that vastly outperforms everything on the 1984 list.

======================================================

And Chat is missing a number of things! Including: 24 hour on call chauffeur for the CT, and an executive assistant who knows shorthand to take dictation and other things that AVP can do also available 24 hours!

Count your lucky stars that you’re alive for this ride!

 

[Crissa]

Dalton, you forgot the processing power and ability to render images; it has the processing power of a supercomputer from that era.

Makes it worth alot more than a personal computer of the era!

-Crissa

 

[YDR37]

I believe the S & X are at end of production.

I also believe that Tesla and more specifically Elon believed that the CT was going to be their new flagship. The market has not agreed so far.

I think Elon lost interest in the S/X years ago. Even as far back as 2019, before the Model Y was introduced, he was talking like this:

Tesla continues to produce the Model S and Model X more for “sentimental reasons than anything else,” CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday during a call with investors, calling the electric vehicles “niche” products.

“They are really of minor importance to our future,” Musk added.

On the other hand, Tesla sold something like 40,000-50,000 S/X worldwide in 2024. If they sold for an average price of $80,000, that's like $3 billion to $4 billon in revenue. And I would guess that the profit margins are particularly high, since both vehicles have high prices and since the development costs were probably paid off years ago.

To me, the S/X seem like cash cows that should be milked for as long as possible, not discontinued.
At best, maybe the CT could replace them as the flagship product in North America -- but most Tesla sales are now in European or Asia/Pacific markets, where there is no sign that the CT will ever be offered.

But hey, Elon may well see it differently. If Tesla announced tomorrow that S/X were end of production, I wouldn't be at all surprised.

 

[Mini2nut]

Not with the recent Model X $5k price hike. It's almost as if Tesla is trying to kill off the dated platform.

 

[igs]

Isn't the Roadster supposed to be the flagship?

 

[dalton108]

Isn't the Roadster supposed to be the flagship?

You would think so but they’ve never really described it that way and honestly does it seem like it’s still coming? I could not imagine how mad I would be if I gave Tesla $50,000 for a founders edition roadster however many years ago that was and they’ve been sitting on my money this long having delivered absolutely nothing.

 

[AShams]

I think Cyber-Tahoe will come out before New MX...

 

[Cybertruck2024]

Give me a S/X Plaid or equivalent with steer-by-wire and it will be my next vehicle. If that's not available in 18 months (likely next time I buy), my CT will be joined by a non-Tesla EV in my garage.

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