Tesla recalls nearly every Cybertruck it has delivered over accelerator issue

[JACK ALYMER]

IT’S THE LATEST P-R NIGHTMARE FOR TESLA. AND IT ALL HAS TO DO WITH SOAP. RESULTING IN A MASSIVE RECALL IMPACTING NEARLY EVERY CYBERTRUCK DELIVERED.

[TikTok: @el.chepito1985]
“This was wedged down here under this. This little section here not allowing this pedal to come back up. So yeah, we’ll see if there’s a recall.”

[JACK ALYMER]

NEARLY 4,000 CYBERTRUCKS, WITH A TOTAL VALUE OF AROUND 240 MILLION DOLLARS, ARE BEING BROUGHT BACK TO FIX THE ISSUE.

DRIVERS HAD BEEN REPORTING INSTANCES OF THEIR ACCELERATOR PEDALS GETTING STUCK ALL THE WAY DOWN
– PUTTING THE ALMOST SEVEN THOUSAND POUND VEHICLE AT AN UNEXPECTED FULL THROTTLE SPEED.

PROMPTING THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION TO LOOK INTO THE PROBLEM.

AND THEY DISCOVERED THE REASON BEHIND IT: SOAP.

TESLA REPORTEDLY IMPLEMENTED AN UNAPPROVED CHANGE TO THE VEHICLE’S DESIGN – USING A SOAP LUBRICANT IN ASSEMBLING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL.

THE LEFT OVER SOAP REDUCED THE RETENTION OF THE PAD TO THE PEDAL, CAUSING IT TO DISLODGE AND GET STUCK DOWN.

ACCORDING TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, THIS INCREASED THE RISK OF CRASH FOR THOSE BEHIND THE WHEEL.

BUT UNLIKE MOST TESLA RECALLS, THE ISSUE CAN’T BE FIXED BY AN OVER-THE-AIR SOFTWARE UPDATE.

CYBERTRUCK OWNERS WILL HAVE TO RESPOND TO A LETTER FROM THE AUTOMAKER AND BRING THEIR VEHICLE INTO A SERVICE CENTER FOR A NO-CHARGE REPAIR.

THIS COMES ON THE HEELS OF TESLA HAVING TO RECALL MILLIONS OF OTHER VEHICLES IN RECENT MONTHS OVER SEPARATE SAFETY CONCERNS.

IN JANUARY, THE AUTOMAKER RECALLED OVER 1.6 MILLION CARS IN CHINA BECAUSE OF CONCERNS WITH STEERING SOFTWARE AND DOOR LOCKING SYSTEMS.

AND IN DECEMBER OF LAST YEAR, OVER TWO MILLION TESLAS WERE RECALLED IN THE U.S. AFTER ANS AUTOPILOT SYSTEM WAS FOUND TO BE PARTLY FAULTY.