The Tesla Cybertruck, a truck so rugged it can only be defeated by a car wash, was reportedly hit with a stop-sale recently because problems with its accelerator kept causing unintended acceleration issues. Don’t worry, though, just because a Cybertruck could attack at any time doesn’t mean it necessarily will. Also, TechCrunch reports that Tesla has now recalled every Cybertruck ever delivered to address the problem with its 7,000-pound trucks unintentionally accelerating.
Since it began delivering Cybertrucks to customers in late November of last year, Tesla has apparently built 3,878 Cybertrucks, all of which are affected by the recall. Believe it or not, though, this isn’t the first time there’s been a recall on the Cybertruck. Despite basically beginning production in December, the Cybertruck was included in a recall in January due to it and other Tesla models displaying an incorrect font size for the Brake, Park, and Antilock Brake System warning lights on the dash.
This time around, things are a little more serious, with the automaker reportedly confirming to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the accelerator pedal can come loose. If it slides forward, it can get caught in the footwell, causing the powerful, heavy pickup truck to accelerate. Tesla is reportedly unaware of any wrecks or injuries that have happened as a result of this design flaw.
According to Tesla, it first found out about the problem from a customer complaint on March 31. A second customer complaint came in on April 3, and, after doing some testing, realized it needed to issue a recall after finding, “[a]n unapproved change introduced lubricant (soap) to aid in the component assembly of the pad onto the accelerator pedal.” As a result, “[r]esidual lubricant reduced the retention of the pad to the pedal.”
So far this year, Tesla’s stock is down about 40 percent and recently laid off about 10 percent of its workforce. CEO Elon Musk, meanwhile, is fighting to get a multi-billion-dollar bonus package reinstated and has even gone as far as to launch a website in hopes of convincing shareholders to give it to him.