[Digital Today reporter Seung-a Yoo] Elon Musk (일론 머스크), Tesla's chief executive, cited a staffing shortage as a reason it is difficult to produce and scale the Cybertruck and Cybercab at the same time. He said there is a limited number of "smart, dedicated people" that Tesla can deploy. Concerns about Tesla's vehicle development capacity are also growing as key executives and vehicle development leaders continue to leave the company.

On Nov. 9 (local time), electric vehicle outlet Electrek reported that Musk said on Nov. 6 Tesla would gradually scale down Cybertruck production at its Texas Gigafactory around mid-2027 and put resources into expanding Cybercab production. He later replied to a post by an X (formerly Twitter) user, saying that maintaining the Cybertruck's complex production line and supply chain and allocating engineering staff would leave Tesla short of personnel to boost Cybercab output. The following day, he again cited the opportunity cost created by the Cybertruck's complexity and stressed the need to scale down production.

An analysis says the factor holding back Tesla's production expansion may be staffing, not factory space or money. Tesla operated 5 consumer vehicle programs in early 2026, but its lineup is expected to shrink in the second half of 2027 to one centered on the Model 3 and Model Y.

In January, Musk said on a fourth-quarter earnings call that Tesla would end production of the Model S and Model X, citing autonomous driving as the reason. The Fremont factory production line that built those vehicles is being converted into a facility for producing Optimus robots, and in April only existing inventory remained. With the Cybertruck also now set for production cuts, a large portion of the consumer vehicle lineup unveiled at the 2024 shareholders' meeting will disappear.

In the second half of 2027, Tesla's main consumer vehicles are expected to be the Model 3 and Model Y, including low-priced "Standard" versions of the two models and the Model Y L. The Semi is a commercial truck, and the timing of mass production for the Roadster is uncertain. The steering wheel-free Cybercab is not a general consumer vehicle but a robotaxi.

Staff departures are also continuing. At an Investor Day event in March 2023, Musk put 14 executives forward as presenters and stressed that Tesla had a "substantial talent bench." But 7 of those presenters, half of the group, have left the company. Key executives across powertrain, software, hardware, energy and charging, including chief financial officer Zach Kirkhorn (잭 커크혼), have departed. Leaders responsible for the Cybertruck and Model Y programs also left the company a day apart in November 2025, and departures later continued among leaders in charge of Cybercab development and assembly.

As Tesla focused on autonomous driving, it also made changes to convenience features in existing vehicles, then restored them. In 2021 it made a yoke-style steering wheel standard on the Model S and Model X, but later reintroduced a round steering wheel as an option. It also brought back the turn-signal stalk that it removed from the Model 3 in 2023, restoring it in 2025, and sold a $350 retrofit product that can be installed on existing vehicles.

Securing autonomous-driving competitiveness remains a challenge. Tesla has strengths in driver-assistance systems, but it still has limits in implementing driverless full self-driving at scale. Waymo's weekly driverless mileage is about 7 times that of Tesla, and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's estimated size of Tesla's robotaxi fleet is only about 1,000 vehicles.

Musk explains the latest production cuts as part of a strategy to focus the business, but another analysis says it may in fact be the result of a shortage of staff to maintain multiple vehicle development programs at the same time. How many key people Tesla can secure to develop and produce existing vehicles while focusing capabilities on the Cybercab remains a task for the company.

There are efficiency improvements coming that will allow for a 40kWh Cybercab pack. We will make this in liquid silver, so the colors are not too monotonous. The biggest thing most people fail to understand is that there are a very limited number of smart, dedicated people! They can only do so many things. If we have to maintain a complex production line, supply chain and allocate engineering for Cybertruck, we can’t use those people or factory space and machinery for scaling Cybercab, which is the vehicle that will PROFOUNDLY transform the world of terrestrial transport!