Unintended acceleration leads to recall of every Cybertruck produced so far

Tesla has issued a recall notice for every single Cybertruck it has produced thus far, a sum of 3,878 vehicles.

Today’s recall notice [PDF] by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that Cybertrucks have a defect on the accelerator pedal, which can get wedged against the interior of the car, keeping it pushed down.

The pedal actually comes in two parts: the pedal itself and then a longer piece on top of it. That top piece can become partially detached and then slide off against the interior trim, making it impossible for the pedal to lift up.

This defect was already suspected as Tesla paused production of the Cybertruck due to an “unexpected delay.” Some Cybertruck owners also spoke on social media about their vehicles uncontrollably accelerating, with one crashing into a pole and another demonstrating on film how exactly the pedal breaks and gets stuck.

The reason why the defect even exists is apparently due to an “unapproved change” that “introduced lubricant (soap) to aid in the component assembly,” according to the recall notice. “Residual lubricant reduced the retention of the pad to the pedal,” it says. Essentially, it seems that in the process of making it easier to install the accelerator pedal, Tesla accidentally made it prone to breaking.

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Tesla says that for the moment, Cybertruck owners should press the brake pedal if the accelerator ever gets stuck, which seems like a good idea. It says it is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the defect, which will be fixed free of charge.

Future Cybertrucks have been outfitted with a redesigned accelerator pedal that (hopefully) doesn’t have the same issue. However, that fix was only made on Wednesday, and so every Cybertruck on the road right now has the defect, and all have been recalled.

The recall notice also reveals how many Cybertrucks Tesla made from November to April just before production was halted: 3,878. That’s not exactly a lot of vehicles, but would have gotten Tesla between $236 million and $387 million in total sales revenue so far, depending on what trims buyers chose, which range from $61,000 to $100,000. For a full year of consistent sales, Tesla might expect about half a billion dollars or more.

Of course, that pales in comparison to the $56bn pay package Tesla CEO Elon Musk is pursuing. As a Delaware court voided the 2018 shareholder agreement that would have granted Musk his modest paycheck, it’s up to Tesla shareholders yet again to see if the tech tycoon still deserves it. It’s not clear if the Cybertruck kerfuffle and Tesla’s poor financial performance recently will factor into the vote significantly. ®

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