The writing was pretty much on the wall for the Cybertruck range extender last month when Tesla removed the option from its website. Now, its officially scrapped it and is refunding the $2,000 deposits that customers put down for the $16,000 battery pack.

The Cybertruck range extender was designed to address Teslas failure to deliver on the promised ranges for the outlandish pickup when it launched toward the end of 2023, and wouldve added about 120 miles to the vehicles range. For example, the tri-motor version of the Cybertruck was expected to have more than 500 miles of range but only offers 320 miles.

Recommended Videos Teslas response was to boost the range using a separate battery pack the range extender that wouldve been installed in the pickups bed by a Tesla technician. The automaker originally said the pack would launch in early 2025, though toward the end of last year it changed it to mid 2025.

Related The changes to the range extenders launch schedule means that folks who dropped a deposit for it have yet to receive it. And now they never will.

Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019, promising a futuristic electric pickup with bold, angular styling. While the Elon Musk-led automaker originally targeted a 2021 launch in North America, production faced repeated delays due to design and manufacturing challenges before finally starting at Gigafactory Texas in 2023.

Deliveries to the first buyers started in December of the same year, but they involved the dual-motor and tri-motor Cyberbeast variants, with those who preordered the single-motor Long Range model still waiting for it.

But the Cybertruck appears to be struggling, with only 6,406 units delivered in the first quarter less than half the sales achieved in the previous quarter. The reduced demand has resulted in about $200 million worth of unsold inventory amid reports of thousands of unsold trucks.

The vehicle faces quality issues, high pricing the available models start at $80,000 and increasing competition, making it challenging for Tesla to boost sales.The fall in Cybertruck sales appears to reflect Teslas broader sales decline, which some have attributed to the negative public perception stemming from Elon Musks political activities and controversies.

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