As Musk's Cybertruck Flops, Stock Tanks, Google Takes Stake In SpaceX

In the annals of automotive history, the car long considered the worst failure ever was Ford's Edsel, introduced in 1957 just as a recession hit, but also plagued by unpopular styling and poor quality. It's reputation as Detroit's biggest flop stood for over 50 years - until the Tesla Cybertruck came along. It also has styling not universally popular, a reputation for poor quality (see photo) and minute sales, which are getting even smaller. 

But that has not stopped Elon Musk. And even as SpaceX stock has done a round trip and is now lower than it was at its IPO launch, Google just announced that they are taking a multi-billion dollar stake in the company. At the least, the Goog appears to see an opportunity to pick up some assets and expertise quickly and cheaply, especially as demand for more data center capacity remains unabated. JL

C de Costa reports in Newsbreak and Katherine Hamilton reports in the Wall Street Journal:

The Ford Edsel became shorthand for corporate hubris and misread markets. The Cybertruck is earning a similar distinction. Musk promised a quarter-million Cybertrucks a year - Tesla delivered 8% of that target, then lost half of that. Q1 2026 delivered the truck’s worst quarterly performance since launch - just 3,519 units. Registration data indicate 20% of Cybertrucks sold in Q4 2025 went to companies owned by Musk - SpaceX and xAI. Bloomberg has made the Edsel comparison official, framing the Cybertruck as the biggest automotive flop of the EV era. SpaceX stock rose 19% to $135 on its first day of trading June 12, for a market value of $2.1 trillion. Its shares recently traded at $112.13. Based on SpaceX’s market capitalization of $1.52 trillion July 23, Google has a 6% stake. It has a long history of investing in SpaceX, discussing a rocket-launch deal to help develop orbital data centers

Back in 2019, CNBC’s Jim Cramer watched the Cybertruck reveal and called it the “E-Edsel.” Most people laughed. Nobody’s laughing now. Q1 2026 delivered the truck’s worst quarterly performance since launch — just 3,519 units, according to Cox Automotive data. That’s from a vehicle Elon Musk once projected at 250,000 units per year. Bloomberg has since made the Edsel comparison official, framing the Cybertruck as potentially the biggest automotive flop of the EV era. 

From Hype to Hard Numbers

Musk promised a quarter-million trucks a year — Tesla delivered roughly 8% of that target, then lost half of that.

In 2024, Tesla moved about 39,000 Cybertrucks in the U.S. during its first full year on sale. Then 2025 cut that nearly in half: 20,237 units, the steepest decline for any EV in the American market that year, per Cox Automotive. Q1 2026 sank further to 3,519 deliveries, down 45.1% from the same quarter a year earlier — not a rounding error, but a product in measurable trouble.

The gap between ambition and reality is genuinely staggering:

• 2024 U.S. sales: ~39,000 units (Cox Automotive)
• 2025 U.S. sales: ~20,237 units — a 48.1% decline, steepest drop for any EV that year
• Q1 2026 U.S. deliveries: 3,519 units — lowest since launch, down 45.1% from Q1 2025

The Edsel in the Room

When nearly one in five trucks sold goes to the owner’s other companies, the demand story starts looking like fiction.

Registration and fleet data indicate that nearly one in five Cybertrucks sold in Q4 2025 went not to retail customers but to companies owned by Musk himself — SpaceX and xAI. Electrek has reported hundreds, possibly thousands, of units acquired this way. Fast Company called the Cybertruck “the biggest flop in decades.” The internal buying doesn’t disprove that characterization — it underlines it. 

The truck itself isn’t terrible on paper. Towing capacity is genuinely strong, reaching figures that comfortably outpace a typical F-150 configuration. But raw capability doesn’t close the sale when the entry price sits at $69,990 for a stainless steel polygon most truck buyers never requested. That’s a significant premium over a base Ford F-150’s roughly $40,000 starting point — for a segment where utility and value retention drive purchase decisions far more than futuristic aesthetics.

Quality concerns added pressure from the start. Multiple recalls within the first 13 months — covering wipers, trim pieces, and structural issues — reinforced the perception that buyers were absorbing beta-test reliability at flagship prices. Traditional truck buyers who need a workhorse, not a conversation starter, found the Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T considerably less risky. Like a prestige streaming series canceled after one season despite a massive marketing push, the Cybertruck moved from viral sensation to cautionary tale at remarkable speed.

What Comes Next

A cheaper AWD variant is reportedly on the way — but the Edsel comparison is already part of the permanent record.

The Ford Edsel became shorthand for corporate hubris and misread markets. The Cybertruck is earning a similar distinction for the tech era — a reminder that even the most hyped product cannot manufacture demand it never genuinely had. A lower-cost AWD variant was anticipated for mid-2026. Whether that resets the narrative or simply extends the decline remains a genuinely open question.  

Google said it owns $94.1 billion in SpaceX SPCX -3.79%

decrease; red down pointing triangle shares, a roughly 6% stake in the newly public company.

The tech conglomerate’s marketable equity securities include $80 billion in SpaceX shares subject to short-term restrictions on the ability to sell and $14.1 billion of shares subject to long-term restrictions through the third quarter of 2027, according to a quarterly filing published Thursday.

The restrictions are common for shareholders that buy stock around the time of an initial public offering.

SpaceX debuted on the public markets in June, marking a blockbuster IPO which Nasdaq said earlier on Thursday was its biggest listing in history.

SpaceX stock rose 19% to $135 on its first day of trading June 12, giving the company a market value of $2.1 trillion. The stock price has edged lower over the past month,

SpaceX shares recently traded at $112.13.

Based on SpaceX’s market capitalization of $1.52 trillion on July 23, Google has a roughly 6% stake in the space and AI company.

Google has had a long history of investing in SpaceX. In May, the two companies were discussing a rocket-launch deal to help develop orbital data centers, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

Google has been expanding its efforts to put orbital data centers in space as it ramps up its AI development, and SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk has expressed interest in the unproven technology.