Despite only being on the road for a handful of months, the Tesla Cybertruck is currently experiencing a recall mandate. Tesla officially launched the trucks to the public in November 2023, teasing them as the future of the automotive industry and specifically championed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Despite Musk's overt pushing for the Cybertruck, users across the web have maligned the vehicles for their angular style, which many have likened to a low-resolution texture pulled straight from a Playstation 2 video game.
Today, there are roughly 4,000 of these Tesla Cybertrucks currently on the road, and the recall impacts each and every one of them. Without any further preamble, let's examine the situation with these T-1000 robots on wheels and uncover the truth about the nature of this total recall.
The Recall Centers On The Accelerator
If you or someone you know is a Tesla Cybertruck driver, it's advisable to follow up on this recall as soon as possible, as it may pose a serious safety issue. News reports have revealed that the accelerator pedal can sometimes stick in place when drivers press down on it, making it difficult or impossible to come to a safe yield or full stop.
Per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, this issue is caused by soap used in the pad lubricant, which inadvertently causes the gas pedal to become jammed. In an official recall order, the NHTSA wrote, “An unapproved change introduced lubricant (soap) to aid in the component assembly of the pad onto the accelerator pedal. Residual lubricant reduced the retention of the pad to the pedal.”
Tesla Is Under Fire
Obviously, this recall is a serious issue that impacts the public safety of everyone within the vicinity of a Tesla Cybertruck. Furthermore, Tesla's recent months have seen several financial and personnel issues, with the company just announcing plans to lay off over 10 percent of its global workforce. Tesla has not yet issued an official statement regarding the situation with the Cybertruck recall, though safety regulators have directly blamed the company. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Austin assembly workers used wholly unauthorized soap in the Cybertruck pads.
Tesla explained their announcement of laying off droves of employees as a reaction to dwindling sales in the electric car market. As a dominant force in this market in the past years, Tesla's low sales figures were quite surprising to many consumers. The electric car company is famously tight-lipped about their total units sold. With only 4,000 Cybertrucks on the road, this puts Tesla behind its competitors, such as Ford, who have managed to move over 7,500 F-150 Lightning electric trucks during the first quarter of the year alone.
The Recall Requires Immediate Action
Due to the nature of Tesla's tech-forward vehicles, most Tesla recalls in the past have been fixable with quick and easy techniques, including software updates through the cloud. Unfortunately, Tesla will clearly require a more hands-on approach for this accelerator recall, meaning owners of the Cybertruck must bring their shiny new vehicles to a Tesla-authorized service center for the repair. Like other safety recalls, this repair comes at no additional charge to the customer.