--- title: "Tesla Tells Workers Building Cybertruck to Stay Home as Demand Slumps" description: "  Demand for Tesla's highly controversial Cybertruck appears to be waning. According to an internal memo obtained by Business Insider, workers at the company's Austin factory were told to take the next three days off, while still receiving eight hours of pay. It's a mysterious development and it's still unclear why the workers were told […]" date: "2024-12-03" modified: "2024-12-03" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-workers-cybertruck-home-demand" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "cybertruck" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla Tells Workers Building Cybertruck to Stay Home as Demand Slumps ![According to a memo obtained by Business Insider, Tesla Cybertruck workers were told to take the next three days off.]() *\Image: SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Paid Leave Demand for Tesla's highly controversial Cybertruck appears to be waning. According to an internal memo [obtained by *Business Insider*](), workers at the company's Austin factory were told to take the next three days off, while still receiving eight hours of pay. It's a mysterious development, and it's still unclear why the workers were told to stay home. But the news hints at the possibility that as Tesla ramps up production of the vehicle, overall demand is starting to seriously slow down — despite [healthy sales numbers]() through the third quarter of this year, to be fair — as the brutalist pickup's [reputation as a lemon grows]() and the market runs out of [true believers](). ## Terrible Investment According to *BI*, some Cybertruck line workers had already been battling an erratic work schedule since late October. Some of them reported being sent home or told to clean up. "When I started at Tesla you could expect to get overtime pay, now I feel lucky to get 40 hours," one worker told *BI*. While EV sales have [soared overall](), Tesla has sold fewer cars so far this year than last year, [*Electrek* reports](), in a notable decline. The Cybertruck in particular has proven divisive, having been recalled a total of [six times]() so far this year due to a number of [glaring technical problems]() and [baffling design decisions](). The vehicle has also become a lightning rod on the street in large part due to its [close association]() with the carmaker's far-right CEO. The value of used Cybertrucks is also [dropping quickly](), indicating the sheen is really starting to wear off. In short, it's still unclear why Cybertruck line workers were sent home. But the timing is certainly suspect as the company's fourth quarter closes out. **More on the Cybertruck:** *[Cybertrucks Appear to Have a Bafflingly Stupid Problem When It Snows]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()