Tesla aftermarket tuner Unplugged Performance publicly offered on November 10 to take over Tesla Cybertruck production, funded by a consortium of investors. Its plan adds a three-row “CyberSUV” and an unmanned “CyberCargo” hauler, and the company is now gathering interest from investors ahead of a possible conversation with Tesla.

The offer came four days after Elon Musk said Tesla would wind down Cybertruck production at Gigafactory Texas around mid-2027. Unplugged says its line would take none of Tesla’s floor space. Neither of its posts says where the line would go.

Unplugged Would Pay Tesla a License Fee and Wait for Cells

Unplugged’s open offer on X says it would run Cybertruck production at no cost to Tesla’s floor space, headcount or focus. Tesla would collect a license fee plus FSD and Robotaxi network revenue on every vehicle built. Cybercab would get first call on battery cells.

The company framed the pitch as support for Musk’s priorities, writing that it would be “glad to take the Cybertruck line off your hands.” When one reply asked whether the offer was real, Unplugged answered that it was serious. The original post had passed 350,000 views by Tuesday night, and neither Musk, Tesla nor Tesla’s Cybertruck account had replied to it on X.

Police and Defense Cybertrucks Already Come From Unplugged

Unplugged’s fleet arm, UP.FIT, lists the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s fleet as the first Cybertruck patrol fleet, and it built a Cybertruck patrol vehicle for the Manalapan Police Department. In 2024 Unplugged worked with Archimedes Defense on the STING armored Cybertruck for military buyers.

The company also sells lift kits and armor for the truck. EVXL first covered it in 2022, when it partnered with Koenigsegg on carbon fiber Tesla parts that went on sale at its Hawthorne, California, headquarters.

On November 6, Unplugged told followers it would keep developing parts for the truck and urged anyone who wanted a new one to order soon. CEO Ben Schaffer then previewed the pitch. On November 8 he wrote that the Cybertruck line deserves a future and that his next post would explain how Tesla could have both. On November 9 he posted that “Every brain cell and battery cell should go to Cybercab. The Cyberline can wait.”

Investor Call Names No Factory or Backer Yet

An hour and a half after the offer, Unplugged asked would-be investors and strategic partners to email [email protected], putting their proposed role in the subject line. The request only gauges interest, the company said. It is not an offer to sell securities, and Unplugged is not accepting money or commitments.

Neither post names an investor, a dollar figure, a factory or a start date. Gigafactory Texas is the only known Tesla plant equipped to build the Cybertruck’s specialized components, Reuters reported when Musk announced the wind-down. So a Cybertruck line that uses none of Tesla’s floor space would first have to be set up somewhere else, and neither post addresses that.

Musk said Tesla is winding the truck down to make room for more Cybercab production. Sales were already falling. Cox Automotive estimated 11,586 US Cybertruck sales from January through September, down 28% from a year earlier. Tesla also dropped its Cybertruck plans for Australia and New Zealand in October.

EVXL’s Take

Unplugged has handed Tesla a clean test of Musk’s explanation. If Cybercab needs the room at Giga Texas, a deal that moves the truck out of the building and pays Tesla a license fee plus FSD revenue costs Tesla no floor space at all.

If Tesla turns that down or never answers, I’d read it as a demand decision, and the 28% sales drop points the same way. Musk gave space as the reason, so the burden of explaining a refusal sits with Tesla, not with Unplugged. Until Tesla responds, mid-2027 is the only end date on record, and anyone who wants a new Cybertruck should plan around it.

Sources: Unplugged Performance on X, Elon Musk on X, Ben Schaffer on X, UP.FIT, Reuters, Cox Automotive.

EVXL uses automated tools to support research and source retrieval. All reporting and editorial perspectives are by Haye Kesteloo.