It’s no secret that we here at Jalopnik have been critical of Elon Musk’s stainless-steel middle finger to the automotive industry. The truth is, we wrote over 60 Tesla Cybertruck blogs in its first 12 months as an actual automotive in the actual world.
Up to now 12 months the Cybertruck has faced a complete of seven recalls, plus a litany of customer complaints and ample bad press from owner crashes and breakdowns. Even many die-hard Tesla stans ended up questioning their loyalty to Musk’s vision. Given the vast array of blunders we figured it may be nice to bring a few of the Cybertruck’s highlights together in a single place. Tap or click the title of every fail to read the unique blog.
This was probably the most dangerous design flaws that afflicted the Cybertruck in 2024; an accelerator pedal with poorly glued trim that may slide and trap the pedal against the ground, turning the Cybertruck right into a 7,000-pound runaway stainless-steel death trap. The fix? Rivet the trim piece to the pedal.
Elon Musk insisted that the Cybertruck seem like nothing else on the road, giving it unpainted stainless-steel body panels, and a silhouette that appears prefer it was penned by one in every of his 12 children of their infancy. So when the Cybertruck’s aerodynamically optimized wheel covers with tendrils that stretch beyond the wheel itself and onto the flexible rubber tire sidewall began cannibalizing said sidewall, Tesla was quick to reply. And by that I mean they simply stopped producing and shipping those wheel covers and just let the trucks reach customers with no wheel covers in any respect. Eventually it released an updated design that didn’t carve grooves into the tire sidewalls, but again, how the hell did engineers not discover that problem through the truck’s several-year development?
The Cybertruck, as many Teslas often do, was launched without finalized software. Fortunately for owners, over-the-air updates could make modern cars much easier to repair en masse. Unfortunately for Tesla, the Cybertruck’s electrically operated front trunk had some serious beef with the fingers of several social media influencers before one in every of those updates increased the system’s pinch sensitivity. Influencers across the web were sticking various fruits, vegetables, and appendages into Cybertruck front trunks to see just how dangerous it was.
The Cybertruck is alarmingly powerful and quick, but when the launch video showed a Porsche 911 get spanked in a drag race by a Cybertruck towing a Porsche 911, the web raised an awfully suspicious eyebrow. Seems Tesla had omitted some very essential details concerning the conditions of this performance showcase.
Pickup trucks have been America’s favorite vehicle for many years, so Tesla faced off with some stiff competition when the Cybertruck hit the market. The at all times sensible team over at Whistlin’ Diesel thought it might be entertaining to pit the “tougher than a bag of nails” Cybertruck against the best-selling vehicle in the US, a Ford F-150, and over 28 million people agree since that’s what number of views this video garnered because it hit YouTube in August. Sure a few of these tests are a tad unorthodox, but seeing the subframe rip off this “tougher than a bag of nails” truck was some pretty bad publicity.
The longest windshield wiper within the industry was one other component of the Cybertruck that needed to be reimagined due to wacky shape of Elon’s pickup truck. The massive floppy singular windshield wiper turned out to be yet one more point of failure for the bulletproof* truck, as owners quickly came upon. Who must see out the windshield anyway?
As with all of Elon’s guarantees, there was some deception concerning the Cybertruck’s proposed maximum range. Initially Musk promised that the range extender would increase the utmost range of the Cybertruck to almost 500 miles, however the laws of physics had something else to say. Batteries are heavy, and it takes a variety of energy to maneuver heavy objects, Elon. As an alternative of the initially promised nearly 500-mile range, the Cybertruck with the range extender can hardly break 400 miles in top trim with all-terrain tires. Not nearly as impressive as initially promised.
The Cybertruck is described on the Tesla website as being “durable and rugged enough to go anywhere,” but earlier this 12 months when the primary Cybertrucks were finally within the hands of homeowners, they learned that phrase must have an asterisk at the tip. Cybertrucks kept entering into sticky situations in snow and sand so continuously, that the National Forest Service in Stanislaus, California urged Cybertruck owners to learn methods to use Motor Vehicle Use Maps to remain protected while venturing off-road. Cybertrucks were even seen getting passed on trails by compact crossovers just like the Subaru Crosstrek.
9) Each Recall Explained
What number of recalls faced the Cybertruck this 12 months? Seven? Rattling. Here’s a transient overview of every recall issued throughout the triangular pickup’s first 12 months of existence. Click each recall to read the total stories.
Edmunds is a trusted source of consumer information for all cars within the U.S.; its staff will often purchase recent vehicles and drive them for a 12 months similar to a standard consumer would, and report on the ownership experience. Edmunds had some bad luck with its Chevrolet Blazer EV, but its Cybertruck developed a critical steering error after one month of ownership and just 1,300 miles of driving. That snowballed, and hilarity ensued.
This Article First Appeared At jalopnik.com
