May 8, 2026 12:25 pm EST Tesla Tesla released a barebones, rear-wheel-drive Cybertruck in April of last year, and a new recall inadvertently reveals just how badly it sold. Starting at $71,985 (about $10,000 less than the AWD Cybertruck was at the time), the stripped-out version of Tesla's controversial pickup was quickly discontinued in September, presumably due to poor sales. Because Tesla doesn't publicize model-specific sales other than Model 3/Y combined together and "Other Models" lumped in with each other, we didn't really know how poor those sales were — until now. The company is issuing a recall on Cybertrucks with the base 18-inch steel wheels, with the issue being stud holes that could lead to wheels falling off. The recall involves just 173 vehicles, which tells us that just 173 rear-drive Cybertrucks were sold. Tesla still sells a new base Cybertruck with those same wheels, but they don't seem to be affected by this recall. Not super shocking when you remember that, despite the mere $10,000 discount, the smaller-wheeled, RWD Cybertruck was 2.1 seconds slower to 60 mph than the dual-motor AWD version, officially towed just 7,500 pounds (versus the already dubious 11,000 pounds with AWD), used cloth instead of leather, and removed a bunch of stuff like adaptive air suspension, the power tonneau cover, the underfloor storage compartment, the rear light bar, the passenger screen, eight speakers, active noise cancelation, a bunch of power outlets, the HEPA air filter, as well as $500 from your firstborn child's college fund for good measure. Not a great deal, to say the least, even considering that last one's obviously a joke. 'Change management error'