The Tesla Cybertruck was delayed and delayed, leading to a launch that was more than two years late. Despite the extra time, some users say the futuristic truck feels rushed. According to a report from the New York Post, some buyers claim their $80,000-$100,000 truck broke down just a few minutes after receiving it.
Even if the car was a quarter of the price, a brand new car breaking down just minutes after receiving delivery is going to upset buyers. And we're not talking about someone's game console or laptop failing — we're dealing with a giant piece of machinery that the driver is trusting with their life.
Some of the craziest Cybertruck user claims
- "Worst delivery in my life (truck died in 5 minutes)," claimed one owner on CyberTruckOwnersClub. "Tesla really rushed these trucks out, what a nightmare," they continued.
- A flashing red screen told one CyberTruckOwnersClub user to "Pull over safely. Critical steering issue detected."
- "My Cybertruck suddenly made a hard brake stop when we both have a clear wide enough space between us," said another CyberTruckOwnersClub user.
- "No, it’s not glorious. The Cybertruck isn’t a truck. It’s a toy truck at best, an experimental concept at worst. I rented mine in LA, and spent 24 hours with it," said user JPinaJeep on the TeslaMotorsClub forum.
- A Reddit user showed off photos of what could best be described as inconsistent build quality.
- Some users have complained of “corrosion” and “orange rust marks” already appearing on their expensive trucks, but Tesla claims this is expected and that they're easy to wipe off.
Did the Cybertruck need more time?
The other Tesla models didn't have perfect launches, but they didn't seem to be plagued by the same major problems facing the Cybertruck. A Southern California-based CyberTruckOwnersClub user detailed their experience in a thread titled "Worst delivery in my life (truck died in 5 minutes)."
The user said their new Cybertruck "made it 1 mile down road, started getting steering error, flashing red screen, pulled off side of highway now the truck is dead and I’m waiting for a tow truck. Dealer couldn’t do anything for me. It was great for 5 minutes. Tried everything, restarting, screen is stuck black and keeps beeping."
Another user in the thread reported a simualr situation, citing their truck started "flashing a red screen" and telling them to "Pull over safely. Critical steering issue detected."
While those issues are certainly not pleasant regardless of the truck's cost, a user in a different CyberTruckOwnersClub thread claimed the autopilot had some serious issues that could have led to a crash. "My Cybertruck suddenly made a hard brake stop when we both have a clear wide enough space between us. Luckily there is no vehicle at the back as it would have been a definite collision."
There are plenty of other reports of issues with the Cybertruck popping up on forums and sites like Reddit. They're not all life-threatening like some of the ones above, but they still seem a bit too common.
A video making the rounds on YouTube from VoyageATX broke down everything wrong with his Cybertruck. "I was missing one of the D-rings inside of the bed," says the Youtuber. "Fortunately, they were able to get that part replaced; it did take them a while." And while a lot of them are small, it still calls to light a worrying lack of quality control.
Still, surely there are tons of Cybertrucks on the road without issues. However, Tesla hasn't said how many of its latest vehicles it has delivered, so there's no way to know for sure what the failure rate is. Some users have countered the anger on Tesla forums. Even the user with the truck that died in five minutes said, "The truck is amazing otherwise. The 5 minutes I got to drive it was great." Another CyberTruckOwnersClub user took delivery of their truck, had fun doodling all over the stainless steel exterior and called it a "Pretty amazing experience" and said they're "loving the truck."
Another user detailed their experience on CyberTruckOwnersClub: "The delivery experience for CT at Marina Del Rey in LA was awesome - indoor and guided through the UI & vehicle setup (shout out to James LaGro and Robert Peters) - and the product & build quality feels pretty incredible so far."
Still, for people who spent somewhere between $80,000 and $100,000, the only failure they're probably concerned about is the one in their truck, and in that case, even one failure is too many.
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