Owners of the Tesla Cybertruck are coming forward with an issue that could potentially turn the stainless steel trapezoid into a 6,800-pound land missile. At least one owner has posted a video outlining their experience with a fault in the design of the Cybertruck's accelerator pedal.
As shown in the video below, the cover of the pedal can slip off and lodge itself into a seam in the driver's side footwell, causing the pedal to remain pressed.
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The Cybertruck's Rough Launch
Tesla has run the gauntlet with Cybertruck launch problems. From incorrectly installed door latches to awful panel gaps, and plenty of reports of loss of power, critics are rightfully slamming the brand for its quality control. This accelerator pedal problem, if widespread, could be Tesla's biggest safety doozy for the Cybertruck to date.
Fortunately, the owner who experienced this issue was able to stop the acceleration by pressing the brake, which cuts power to the drive motors. However, as soon as the driver lifted their foot off of the brake, they reported that the truck immediately accelerated at full throttle. Kind of scary considering the 6,800-pound truck can sprint from 0-60 mph in under 2.7 seconds.
At the time of writing, Tesla has not publicly commented on the reason for the delay, nor confirmed if the reported stop-sale is due to the accelerator pedal issue. Likewise, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not published any complaints that would indicate a pedal defect or current recall.
Cybertruck buyers across the country, including those in California, North Carolina, Missouri and New Jersey, have recently been informed that deliveries of their trucks have been delayed. Those affected asked for the reasoning behind the delay but were reportedly met with silence.
Would-be owners theorized that the recent viral post regarding the accelerator pedal is responsible for the delay. This remains officially unconfirmed, though popular Tesla proponent Omar Qazi, aka WholeMarsCatalog, posted X that deliveries have been halted due to "an issue with the accelerator pedal."
Drive Tesla reports that information shared with the blog attributes the pedal shift to "lubricant residue" present from production. However, it's worth also calling out that there doesn't appear to be any fasteners holding the pedal cover on, which means that the cover could be either friction-fit or held on with adhesive, possibly a product of cost savings. Drive Tesla also reports that Tesla anticipates readying a fix to resume deliveries as early as April 20.
Another user on X added that Tesla was working ASAP to source and ship a new version of this cover to service centers and delivery locations. No more electric trucks will be delivered until the new covers are installed, the X user said citing multiple Tesla service centers.
Several owners seem to have received the following message from Tesla:
We have just been informed of an unexpected delay regarding the preparation of your vehicle. We need to cancel your delivery appointment and we will reach out again when we're able to get you back on the schedule. We apologize for the inconvenience and look forward to hosting your Cybertruck delivery soon.
Interestingly, an owner pointed out a problem with their Cybertruck that resulted in the truck hitting a pole in early April. The owner posted to the Cybertruck Owners Club forum where they were met with skepticism until they posted photos of the accident. Even still, members of the forum believe there was more to the story.
If this is indeed a more widespread problem, it will almost certainly result in an official recall. The entire situation is reminiscent of Toyota's 2.3 million vehicle recall in 2010 due to the accelerator pedal potentially becoming mechanically stuck and resulting in unintended acceleration. Though many of those claims were overblown and the issue was often due to misuse and improper floor mat placement, the incident was a crushing blow to Toyota's reputation and bottom line for several years.
Meanwhile, the Cybertruck launch has been rough. Owners have been reporting problem after problem, many even finding their trucks on the back of a tow truck, as their vehicles couldn't be driven.
Crowdsourced data from November 2023 suggested that Cybertruck reservations had surpassed 2 million. And the waiting period for new orders hovers around 5 years.
Tesla previously said that it planned to produce 125,000 Cybertrucks annually at its Gigafactory Texas and scale up to 250,000 by 2025. Cox Automotive data showed that Tesla delivered only about 2,803 Cybertrucks in Q1 2024.
An InsideEVs investigation from earlier this month also found that Cybertruck owners were facing teething issues with their trucks. They mentioned problems related to electrical harnesses, onboard Power Conversion System (PCS) failures, broken drive units and steering and braking problems among several others. Tesla service centers fixed some issues fairly quickly, while others took much longer to resolve.
New vehicle releases can be hard—just ask Ford. But some of these problems are flagging Tesla's vehicles as unreliable, especially if they can't prop up the quality control of a $100,000 truck.
The roadblock in Cybertruck deliveries comes at a time when CEO Elon Musk’s brand is trying to navigate a rocky road, especially in 2024.
The $25,000 affordable Tesla is reportedly scrapped, with the focus now being the Tesla Robotaxi which will be revealed on August 8. Tesla’s Q1 sales are down significantly whereas an increasing number of EVs from rival brands are now gaining traction, including the Cadillac Lyriq, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6, Kia EV6 and Ford Mustang Mach-E among others.
More issues with the Cybertruck is the last thing Tesla would want, especially given all the pomp and pageantry surrounding its launch last year, and the billions of dollars of resources it has poured into its development.
If this problem results in a recall, it could spell even more issues for Tesla as it already deals with a rough sales year.
Contact the author: rob.stumpf@insideevs.com
Additional reporting from Suvrat Kothari
