SpaceX bought 1,279 Cybertrucks in one quarter — and propped up Tesla's sagging sales
Tesla's Cybertruck sales figures look a lot less impressive once you know who's doing the buying. A 10-K amendment filed with the SEC on May 1, 2026 shows Tesla collected $143.3 million from SpaceX in vehicle sales during 2025. Registration data from S&P; Global Mobility confirms SpaceX took delivery of 1,279 Cybertrucks in Q4 2025 alone — accounting for 18% of all US Cybertruck registrations that quarter. Strip those out and Q4 registrations would have fallen 51% compared to the same period the year before, per Electrek.
The numbers behind the deal
SpaceX wasn't the only Musk-affiliated company buying Teslas. Entities including xAI, The Boring Company, and Neuralink collectively accounted for around 1,339 Cybertruck registrations — roughly 19% of Q4's total US sales. Across all of 2025, Tesla's SEC filing shows $573 million in revenue from companies controlled by Elon Musk. Tesla's audit committee signed off on all of it as arm's-length commercial transactions, but the sheer scale has drawn scrutiny from investors and analysts who see a single CEO steering purchases between his own companies.
The per-unit math works out to roughly $95,500 each — consistent with top-spec Cybertruck trims or Foundation Series configurations, possibly with fleet modifications factored in.
Where the trucks actually go
These aren't showroom props. Cybertrucks are already active workhorses across SpaceX's operations: spotted at Starbase in South Texas moving between Starship prototypes, at the Starlink manufacturing facility in Bastrop, and at the McGregor engine test site. The stainless steel body — long criticized for production complexity and divisive looks — turns out to have practical appeal in coastal and industrial environments where corrosion resistance matters.
Switching a fleet from diesel pickups to electric also fits SpaceX's broader image, even if the governance angle is harder to dismiss.
The conflict-of-interest question
Yahoo Finance / Bloomberg reported that the dynamic is drawing comparisons to opaque fleet deals like Hertz's early EV bulk purchases. The difference here is that both buyer and seller report to the same person. No regulator has opened a formal investigation, and Tesla's audit committee approval provides legal cover — but $573 million flowing between Musk companies in a single year is the kind of related-party concentration that tends to keep institutional investors up at night.
For now, SpaceX gets a futuristic-looking fleet and simplified fleet management. Tesla gets a reliable bulk buyer during a rough patch for Cybertruck demand. Whether that arrangement is good corporate governance or a convenient workaround depends on who you ask.