Surprising no one, Elon Musk’s ridiculous 6,000 lb. bulletproof Cybertruck has been recalled for a serious defect with the accelerator pedal.
The Tesla Cybertruck concept was first introduced by Tesla CEO Musk in 2019. By late 2023, the company was already carrying out the first orders for the truck despite failing to dispel numerous safety concerns. It was one of Musk’s most ridiculous ideas yet, as the stainless steel, boxy-looking truck is a whopping 6,000 lbs and supposedly bulletproof. From the onset, the truck has been roasted for its bizarre design and flaws. When Musk first unveiled it, he tried to demonstrate the bulletproof windows, but two immediately shattered upon being hit by a metal ball.
By the time orders started rolling out, numerous concerns still hadn’t been addressed, such as the stainless steel giving the Cybertruck a very small crumple zone, the limited visibility due to the length of the hood and the truck height, the lack of a rear window, and an iffy steer-by-wire feature. On top of all this, Musk is known for abandoning safety protocols in favor of rushing every new project. Not to mention, everyone was concerned about why Musk and his followers felt they needed a 6,000 lb bulletproof truck and what they planned to use it for. Hence, it was hardly surprising that months after carrying out deliveries, every Cybertruck was recalled.
Elon Musk’s Cybertrucks are recalled
Tesla has been ordered to recall a whopping 3,878 Cybertrucks manufactured between November 13, 2023, and April 4, 2024, which is believed to be every single Cybertruck on the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a recall notice, which detailed a defect in which the accelerator pedal can get lodged in place when pushed down. According to the report, an “unapproved change” was made during the manufacturing process in which “lubricant (soap)” was introduced to the pedal and decreased its “retention.” In a TikTok video, a Cybertruck owner demonstrated the problem, illustrating how the unusually long pedal could slide under a crevice and become lodged.
The brake pedal was still functioning and would override the accelerator if it became stuck. However, lifting one’s foot briefly off the pedal would result in the car instantly rising to dangerous speeds. That was particularly dangerous because the Cybertruck can go from 0 mph to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds. Hence, all of the delivered Cybertrucks were recalled to receive new pedals. Of course, one must ask why all its other defects aren’t being addressed. For example, visibility is so poor Musk himself was caught on camera obliviously running over a road sign in his Cybertruck.
The recall quickly attracted attention on social media. Many were more intrigued to learn the number of Cybertrucks sold so far. The low number is especially interesting, given how many catastrophic failures have been caught on camera. Recently, one driver shared how simply putting their Cybertruck through the car wash resulted in the truck completely shutting down and emitting a strange noise from the dashboard. It took five hours to get the Cybertruck back up, leaving social media viewers baffled by how something so simple as a car wash could render the truck ineffective for hours.
Based on how few Cybertrucks were sold and how many we’ve seen fail on social media, one user estimates an unusually high percentage are spectacularly failing. Also, this isn’t the only recall that Tesla has been hit with. Last year, all of its self-driving Teslas were recalled for an autopilot defect. With so many failures, many users wonder when the company will fall or be hit with a class-action lawsuit.
The only comforting aspect of this news is that there are only 3,878 Cybertrucks out in the wild, making one’s chances of running into one fairly low and meaning not everyone in the incel community is armed with a Cybertruck yet.
Now, everyone knows just how spectacularly Musk’s Cybertruck has failed, as not only have they all been recalled, but he’s delivered an embarrassingly low number despite hyping up his monstrosity of a truck as the next big thing.
(featured image: Michael Gonzalez/Getty)
