Tesla CEO Elon Musk Reportedly Gave Away A Cybertruck To An xAI Employee On A Bet

Sulaiman Ghori, Member of Technical Staff at xAI, said in a YouTube interview published on Thursday that Musk promised an employee a Cybertruck if they get a training run on GPUs within 24 hours.

• Ghori, however, did not clarify which version of the Cybertruck was handed to the employee.
• The demand for the vehicle has been lower than anticipated. 
• Elon Musk’s rocket and spacecraft manufacturing company SpaceX reportedly bought over 1000 Cybertrucks from Tesla.

Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk reportedly gave away a Cybertruck to an employee of his AI startup xAI on a bet.

Sulaiman Ghori, Member of Technical Staff at xAI, said in a YouTube interview published on Thursday that Musk promised an employee a Cybertruck if they get a training run on GPUs within 24 hours.

The team accomplished a training run and the employee subsequently got the stainless steel truck with a starting price of about $79,990 in the U.S., Ghori said. Ghori, however, did not clarify which version of the Cybertruck was handed to the employee. The higher-end Cyberbeast version of the vehicle has a starting price of $114,990.

Cybertruck Demand

In December, Bloomberg reported that Tesla’s South Korean supplier L&F Co. has reportedly slashed its supply contract with the EV maker down to 9.73 million won from 3.83 trillion won. 

The report also noted a person familiar with the matter attributing the slash in part to issues with the Cybertruck. The supplier only ended up providing a tiny fraction of battery material that the carmaker had ordered nearly three years ago, they added.

L&F was contracted to supply Tesla with high-nickel cathode material which was to be used in Cybertruck batteries but only small amounts were provided due to delays in the vehicle’s development and low consumer demand, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

The supply contract was also affected by broader policy and economic issues, including the elimination of Inflation Reduction Act subsidies which included a $7500 federal tax credit on the purchase of select EVs, the person added.

Weak Demand Haunts The Stainless Steel Juggernaut

Tesla started delivering the Cybertruck in November 2023 after a long wait. However, the truck was pricier than proposed during unveiling in 2019, dragging down demand and preventing reservation holders from actually placing the order. Musk had said in 2019 that the entry level variant of the truck would start at just about $40,000, while the most premium version would start at around $70,000.

The Cybertruck’s stainless steel exterior and angular design also pulled split opinions, with some deeming it ugly while others appreciated the change.

Musk has previously predicted that Tesla could sell up 500,000 Cybertrucks annually. However, in 2024, the company sold only 85,133 units of all its premium models combined, which includes the Model S, X and the Cybertruck, putting Cybertruck annual sales alone at below 30,000 units on an estimate.

Elon Musk’s rocket and spacecraft manufacturing company SpaceX has also reportedly bought over 1000 Cybertrucks from the billionaire’s EV company Tesla. Electrek reported in December, citing a source familiar with the matter, that SpaceX has bought over 1000 Cybertrucks from Tesla and that it could ramp to about 2000 over time.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around TSLA stayed within the ‘neutral’ territory while message volume stayed at ‘low’ levels.

TSLA stock has gained 6% over the past 12 months. 

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<