After 10 days on the market, Tesla's new Cybertruck all-wheel drive version price increases by 17%

Tesla raises the price of the new all-wheel drive Cybertruck (AWD) in the U.S. market from $59,990 (approximately 412,000 RMB at current exchange rates) to $69,990 (approximately 481,000 RMB), a 17% increase. The price adjustment took effect today, just 10 days after the model’s launch.

On February 19, Tesla launched the new Cybertruck AWD version, priced at $59,990, making it the lowest-priced electric pickup truck in Tesla’s history. The new vehicle features dual motors, an estimated range of 325 miles (about 523 km), adaptive damping suspension, an electric tailgate, and a V2X power outlet supporting bi-directional power sharing. On paper, this is the first Cybertruck that truly offers good value for money.

However, just hours after the official announcement, Elon Musk responded on social platform X with a single sentence: “This price will only last 10 days.”

As pointed out by external observers at the time, this reasonably priced Cybertruck was essentially “sentenced to death” by Musk within hours of its release. When asked about the meaning, Musk explained that the price would depend on “demand at this price point.”

Electrek commented: Announcing a price increase 10 days in advance creates urgency and boosts orders; then, using this artificially amplified demand, it further justifies the price hike. This is nothing more than a self-fulfilling prophecy disguised as market logic.

Tesla displayed a banner on the Cybertruck configuration page stating that the $59,990 price would only be valid until February 28. Delivery times were then pushed back from June 2026 to September-October, and even delayed to 2027, with Tesla and Musk citing this as evidence of strong demand.

Today, the price officially jumped to $69,990, a $10,000 increase, and the leasing option for this version was canceled.

Honestly, the current $70,000 all-wheel drive Cybertruck is a significant upgrade compared to the rear-wheel drive (RWD) version priced at $69,990, which was discontinued after only five months due to lack of interest.

The $70,000 RWD version was a heavily stripped-down failure model: to cut costs, Tesla removed adaptive air suspension, electric tailgate, and V2X power outlet, offering only single-motor rear-wheel drive. Its value was poor, and almost no one bought it.

In contrast, the new all-wheel drive version at the same price point features dual motors, all-wheel drive, a 325-mile range (compared to about 350 miles for the RWD version), standard adaptive damping suspension, electric tailgate, and V2X power outlet, making it much more practical. Compared to last year’s $70,000 RWD version, the AWD version’s advantages are overwhelming; they are in different leagues.

However, this comparison only seems favorable because the RWD version was so poorly equipped that it shouldn’t have been released to market in the first place.

A more relevant comparison is the official pricing at the debut of the Cybertruck in November 2019:

• Dual-motor all-wheel drive: $49,900 (about 343,000 RMB), range 300 miles
• Single-motor rear-wheel drive: starting at $39,900 (about 274,000 RMB)
• Tri-motor all-wheel drive: $69,900 (about 480,000 RMB), range 500 miles

Today, the base AWD version at $69,990 is 40% more expensive than the promised $49,900 dual-motor version in 2019. Even accounting for inflation, the 2019 price adjusted to today’s dollars would be about $63,000, meaning Tesla is charging roughly $7,000 more than the inflation-adjusted original price.

Moreover, the 2019 top-tier tri-motor Cybertruck was originally priced at $69,900, almost identical to today’s entry-level AWD version. The current top-tier “Cyber Beast” version costs as much as $99,990 (about 687,000 RMB), which is $30,000 more than the initial top-tier model.