The last days of the Tesla Model X and S are here. All bets are on Cybercab.

It’s been coming for weeks, but now the end is near: Only a handful of Tesla Model S and Model X cars remain unsold. Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed this week in a post on X that the Model S sedan and Model X SUV will be discontinued. “All that’s left are some of the things,” he wrote.

Musk first announced Tesla’s plans to end production of the Model S and Model X in January. And data helps explain why.

Sales of the Tesla Model X and Model S have steadily declined over the years as the company’s larger and more affordable models — the Model 3 and Model Y — took over. Tesla doesn’t separate the S and X products, instead lumping them together under “other models,” a category that now includes the Cybertruck. And these combined figures show that sales of the S and X will peak in 2017 at 101,312 vehicles before dropping to 50,850 vehicles (including the Cybertruck) in 2025 – a fraction of the 1.63 million vehicles it delivered worldwide last year.

In other words, their death was inevitable. What comes after is even more difficult.

Musk isn’t filling the gap between the Model X and Model S with a traditional EV; abandoned plans to build a low-cost EV that was supposed to cost around $25,000. Instead, Musk is placing his bet on the Optimus robot, which has yet to be produced, and Cybercabthe first two-seater electric car presented as an idea in 2024.

Tesla plans to build Optimus robots at the Fremont, California, factory once the Model S and Model X are finished, which could be any day now when the final orders are taken. Musk said Tesla will begin production of the Cybercab this month at its factory in Austin, Texas.

Looking back

The Model S and X EVs have taken a back seat to the affordable Model 3 and Model Y. But their debuts, and early sales, marked two critical moments in Tesla’s colorful and volatile history. The Model S was launched in 2012 as its first volume EV. Its popularity not only changed the way consumers view EVs, it made automakers — long in denial about the importance of electric vehicles — take notice.

Model X was introduced in the fall of 2015 and was famously described by Musk as The Fabergé Egg of EVs.

“I think we were very impressed with the X,” Musk said in a September 2015 press conference held an hour before Tesla’s Model X debut. “I’m not sure anyone should build this car.”

The Model X was often delayed, and was initially criticized for its problems. But it eventually brought the company to a new market: women.

The Model X raised Tesla’s profile, and set the company up for a new start: an affordable mass-produced EV. The Model 3 had a rough start, but eventually made Tesla great. The Model Y earned its spot, helping Tesla expand its gap as the world’s best-selling EV maker until China’s BYD took the top spot as the world’s top EV seller in 2025. delivered 2.26 million EVs.

Tesla continues to sell thousands of Model 3 and Model Y, but its own growth has stoppedand even modified. The company reported in January that it would sell 1.69 million vehicles in 2025, a decline for the second year in a row. Its efforts to boost sales are the cheaper, less expensive Model 3 and Model Y models that were introduced in October. had little successaccording to the figures for the first quarter of 2026 reported on April 2.

Tesla delivered 358,023 EVs worldwide in the first three months of the year, about 6% more than the same period in 2025, which also happened. the company’s worst quarter in years. The figure was below analysts’ expectations of 368,000.

But don’t worry about that. In the view of Musk – who is well-paid – Tesla is not an automaker or a traditional electric company, as he has previously explained. Tesla is an AI company and its new gambit does just that.

The dangers of Cybercab

The Optimus robot is part of Tesla’s AI efforts. But perhaps it’s Cybercab that best represents, and exposes the dangers of, the company’s first AI campaign.

The Cybercab is designed to be used as an autonomous vehicle without traditional controls such as a steering wheel or pedals – meaning that once activated it will not be a basic public safety backup.

The first Cybercab rolled off the assembly line of a Tesla factory in February and is expected to make more this month. Even that day may go down, as so many do in Tesla’s history.

Unlike previous Tesla cars, problems are not created (who could forget making hell of Model 3). Instead, it faces a major regulatory hurdle before it can even begin. Federal motor vehicle safety standards impose requirements on vehicles such as having a steering wheel and pedals. There is no evidence that Tesla has requested a waiver, according to files publicly available with the Federal Register and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The cars will also rely on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software to navigate public roads and safely drive passengers to their destinations. Despite the FSD changes and a few driverless robotaxi tests in Austin, Tesla has yet to demonstrate that its software can work reliably.

And that piece requires more than technical skill. Robotaxi jobs are tough. And in states like California, they also require permits to post and charge for rides in self-driving cars.

Zoox, Jeff Bezos’ Amazon’s autonomous vehicle company, could pave the way for Tesla with its Cybercab. Zoox he received a release from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration allowing the company to demonstrate its custom-built robotaxis, which has no pedals or steering wheel, on public roads. Zoox is now going through a public hearing to be pardoned added to commercial activities.

Musk tried to sell shareholders on why the risk was important during the company’s January earnings call.

“Most of the kilometers that will be traveled will be autonomous in the future,” Musk said at the time, later realizing that the Cybercab is well-designed for less than one kilometer and to operate at higher speeds. “I would say probably less than, I’m just guessing, but probably less than 5% of the miles driven will be self-driving in the future, maybe as low as 1%.”