Tesla had a pretty terrible time last week. They laid off 14,000 employees (10% of their workforce), had two high-profile execs resign due to unspecified “[b]ig overall changes,” and asked shareholders to re-vote on Elon Musk’s proposal for his own compensation plan. They also had to recall all 3,878 of their Cybertrucks because the accelerator pads were getting stuck, which puts drivers at a greater risk of crashing. After getting customer complaints, Tesla confirmed that the issue with the pads was they could get dislodged from the pedal, causing them to slide up and get stuck in the footwell trim in an a downwards, acceleration position. So. Much. Winning.
They’re being “very cautious:” Reports of problems with the Cybertruck’s accelerator pedal started popping up in the last few weeks. Tesla even reportedly paused deliveries of the truck while it sorted out the issue. Musk said in a post on X that Tesla was “being very cautious” and the company reported to NHTSA that it was not aware of any crashes or injuries related to the problem.
The pedals can dislodge: The company has now confirmed to NHTSA that the pedal can dislodge, making it possible for it to slide up and get caught in the trim around the footwell.
Blame it on the lube: Tesla said it first received a notice of one of these accelerator pedal incidents from a customer on March 31, and then a second one on April 3. After performing a series of tests, it decided on April 12 to issue a recall after determining that “[a]n unapproved change introduced lubricant (soap) to aid in the component assembly of the pad onto the accelerator pedal,” and that “[r]esidual lubricant reduced the retention of the pad to the pedal.”
They’ll use new pedals moving forward: Tesla says it will replace or rework the accelerator pedal on all existing Cybertrucks. It also told NHTSA that it has started building Cybertrucks with a new accelerator pedal, and that it’s fixing the vehicles that are in transit or sitting at delivery centers.
This is its second recall: While the Cybertruck only first started shipping late last year, this is not the vehicle’s first recall. But the initial one was minor: Earlier this year, Tesla recalled the software on all of its vehicles because the font sizes of its warning lights were too small. The company unveiled the truck back in 2019.
That is so dangerous. Any car, let alone a giant truck, that’s stuck in acceleration mode is pretty terrifying. I don’t understand how an unapproved change like that could even happen. Tesla did do a fix that allowed some locations to resume shipments. The fix entailed re-enforcing the pad to the pedal, using a rivet at the pedal’s base. I don’t know if that’s a long term solution, but I really hope that anyone driving a Cybertruck, as well as everyone on the road with one, remains safe and incident-free. From what I understand, drilling the pads down is a safe way to ensure the pads and pedals stay connected, so I wonder if the way the Cybertruck’s pads were designed to stick together was a result of trying to get them out quickly or cheaply.
Oh, and that’s not the only problem that the Cybertruck is having! Apparently, they also cannot handle a car wash. One owner tried taking his for a cleaning recently and it made the whole truck shut down. It ended up finally working again after a five-hour system reboot, yikes. Tesla warned drivers not to wash them in “direct sunlight” because it could corrode its stainless steel. They recommend using something called “Car Wash Mode” and going to “touchless car washes.” And of course, we already know that the truck also can be defeated by a little snow. I guess the Cybertruck is “durable and rugged enough to go anywhere,” except for snow, water, and sunlight. I actually live about a mile from a Tesla dealership. We see people test driving them all the time, including the Cybertruck. They look just as ridiculous in person as they do in pictures. My six-year-old thinks they look cool, but he’s six, so there’s your audience for these trucks.
Loving that Apartheid Clyde’s vanity project is literally falling apart.
While I love this for Elno, it’s giving me stress thinking about sharing the road with one of these. *Reads list of cybertruck issues from cleaning to gas pedal and hyperventilates.*
I hear you. Luckily they aren’t allowed into Australia as they don’t meet our safety standards.
Thankfully, there are less than 4,000 of them on the road. spread across 50 states, not likely they can cause an issue en masse.
I’ve been seeing quite a few of these monstrosities on the roads here (West L.A/Beverly Hills). They are just *so* ugly, and believe me, I’m *not* happy* when I see one lumbering towards me in the rearview mirror!!
Sadly, there will always be too many people with more money than brains.
They’re not sellable in the UK either, first because our normal driving licence doesn’t allow us to drive anything heavier than 3,500 kilos and secondly because that angular shape is a pedestrian killer, it wouldn’t pass any of our safety tests.
ML, poor you! I get anxious when I have just a SUV tailgating me, if I had any of those monsters following me, I’d have to stop in the first lay-by available.
I’m actually amazed that there are 3,878 of them to recall!
but yeah, scary. I see them occasionally on the road and… ugh. good for the countries with better safety standards!
I feel like a bit of a fraud accepting your sympathies as I actually live in the EU where these things are illegaal (they aren’t pedestrian friendly). I was thinking more in terms of when we fly over (they are definitely in the South), and actually of all of you who have these on the roads where you travel (as well as friends and relatives of mine).
I’m completely stunned that anyone involved in vehicle manufacturing thought it was a good idea to use something called “lubricant soap” in assembly of control pedals. Did they not think through that maybe a substance which helped the pedal plate and pad slide together more easily would also … help it slide apart?
Some people talk about how the engineers, business types at Telsa and SpaceX have firewalled technical, product decisions from NaziElno’s influence, but clearly he’s not the only one responsible for careless or just plain stupid decisions.
I love this bit of gossip about firewalling Musk from technical and product decisions. They should firewall him from business decisions also. Or better still, do us all a favor and firewall him from the public.
Also your point about this: “Did they not think through that maybe a substance which helped the pedal plate and pad slide together more easily would also … help it slide apart?”
Hilarious. Love it. Such a practical engineering thing to say.
I’m reminded of the Boeing employees jumping on the plane parts to make them fit. Soaping a part to slip it on easier seems about the same kind of thinking.
Why on earth would anyone buy that piece of garbage?? Plus it’s dangerous. Some people are so strange.
They look like a ’80 movie idea for a futuristic car…
That’s funny because I saw one in person for the first time yesterday and I just could not get over how comically ugly it is. It’s ridiculous looking and I don’t understand how you can even see out of the windows to drive safely. I literally turned to my daughter and said “that is proof that just because you have lots of money doesn’t mean you have any brains.” The Tesla SUV-ish car is stylish looking and everyone I know who has it loves it but man, that truck is just so bad.
It looks like it’s an under-contruction Oscar Mayer Weinermobile.
Slap on some paint and a giant hot dog and bun and off it goes,
https://www.oscarmayer.com/wienermobile/
I still believe this car isn’t a real thing and that the internet is playing a joke on me.
On first glance, I thought they were recalled because they are UGLY AF!
So many people have them where my sister lives right outside of LA. Never been so glad to love in WV. They love their trucks here, but there is not one. single. Tesla.
I still remember the Ford truck pulling the Tesla truck stuck in 3 inches of snow and the CEO of GM posting a picture of it on X.
And it was a Forest Service Ford!!
I wonder what the real founders of Tesla think of what Muskrat has done to the company. The way that racist scammer has bamboozled some people into thinking he is a tech genius is quite something.
2024’s Edsel. (We can hope.)
Seen a couple of these driving around my small NorCal town and they are comically ugly. Not the flex they think it is.
I live in LA, and have seen more than enough of these monstrosities. My son and I always crack up, and he noticed the other day that other drivers around us were also laughing, and now it’s all I see. Do they see all the people laughing, or are they sealed in that thing, oblivious to everything around them? I have so many questions.
Well. The owners are sealed in oblivion and don’t see the folly . The muskrats have the same mindset as magats and tRump worship. The appeal of this clown is mind-boggling, but these same people are defending poopy pants.
Every time I see a picture of a celeb driving these monstrosities, the phrase “ too much money, so little sense” pops in to my head. They are ugly. They are shabbily made. They are nothing but status symbols for the wealthy class and it makes me happy to see them break down and be recalled on a global basis.
“I guess the Cybertruck is ‘durable and rugged enough to go anywhere’ except for snow, water, and sunlight” made me howl with laughter at its perfect summation
*Chef’s kiss* love you @Rosie!
Tesla is blaming this on soap. The pedal cover was not attached by anything– it was slipping off because it was not actually adhered. The “fix” is one single rivet at the base of the pedal– but from what I’ve seen there is no quality control–sometimes the rivet is on the seam of the cover, etc.
There are tons of reports of things falling off this vehicle. One guy said he’s afraid to touch the sun roof because he thinks it’s going to break off and if he presses on the area of the roof the windshield wipers go off. That’s in addition to all of the other things people have been reporting.
A six-year-old’s idea of a cool truck. Sounds about right for an Elno venture.
I saw one of these behind me on the road yesterday and I was worried it might lose control and hit me. Visually it looks like something like the world’ last surviving teenagers would build out of scrap in a post-apocalyptic movie.
I guess it drives as good as it looks, and I have to wonder what is going through people’s minds when they buy them.
It’s a Cyber El Camino. Change my mind.
Ha! ‘Cyber El Camino’! Now I can’t NOT see it! 🛻
For me, the cybertruck is down there with the Confederate flag and maga hats as a warning sign against the person who owns those items.
I found this truck really ugly; and who designed the interior of the car? All those sharp edges are nightmare & accidents waiting to happen. Unless you are wearing an armor while driving this truck.
Why would you buy a car with the same care requirements as a Gremlin? I love people calling this motorized atrocity an air fryer. 🤣
Pretty sure people have gotten their fingers sliced off from that monstrosity. I saw one today and was aghast. Just hideous and it looks like it drove straight off of Roblox.