Tesla Cybertruck

[sdifox]

Just got around to watching that repair video. Have to give kudos to Tesla that not only is it repairable, but that they were willing to even repair it in first place, knowing that this was 100% user abuse. Pretty sure most manufacturers won't even touch damaged frames.

That glue is pretty impressive too, the fact that it provides good adhesion on such a smooth surface.

The cost of the repair seems rather reasonable too, yeah, it's a lot of money but a similar repair on any other car would probably cost about that much too, and that's if they'd even be willing to do it.

Most dealerships will fix your car if you are willing to pay for it. Most vehicles are unibody and they get fixed as long as insurance deems it cheaper than totalling the vehicle.

 

[Kaido]

 

[Kaido]

Great article on the issues of the rapid development of the Cybertruck:

How the Cybertruck Came to Embody Tesla’s Problems

there was pressure inside Tesla to get the truck to market quickly

...

Work on the vehicle was delayed a couple of years, leaving engineering and manufacturing teams with only a few months to do final testing before the trucks went to customers, former employees said.
Musk tried to temper expectations around how quickly Tesla could increase production, given its unique design. “There is always some chance that Cybertruck will flop, because it is so unlike anything else,” he wrote on social media in July 2021. Still, he promoted some of its most unusual features, including his dream of making the car amphibious.

Former employees said they took Musk’s social posts as orders, but the engineering proved difficult. By 2022, it was clear internally that Cybertruck wouldn’t be able to meet all Musk’s criteria, so engineers scrapped an early design and started over—developing a smaller, landlocked version of the truck, the people said.

After about a year and a half of testing, Tesla delivered the first Cybertrucks to a dozen or so customers in late November 2023.

...

In March, Tesla issued a recall affecting most of the Cybertrucks it had produced—more than 46,000. The problem involved adhesive that could become brittle in extreme weather, causing exterior trim panels called cant rails to dislodge.

Inspecting his truck, Tomasko said he found loose connections on almost every panel that used the adhesive, including the large pieces of stainless steel over the rear wheels, the front fender and the front doors.

 

[Kaido]

Update on the CT sale:

https://insideevs.com/news/761963/tesla-cybertruck-zero-percent-demand/

At 5.54% (the rate Tesla quotes on its site), the subsidized interest offsets the total cost of the loan between $11,475 and $15,891, depending on the trim level financed.

* 0% APR financing
* Must take delivery by the end of the month
* Must purchase $8k Full Self-Driving package

Tesla currently has an estimated 3,700 unsold units—about $300 million—sitting in parking lots

 

[MrSquished]

There are zero redeeming qualities about that truck which stands for everything wrong about anything.

 

[Kaido]

There are zero redeeming qualities about that truck which stands for everything wrong about anything.

The rollout has not exactly met expectations:

According to registration data from S&P Global Mobility on the 8th (local time), Tesla recorded sales of about 7,100 Cybertrucks in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2025. Last year’s annual sales also fell below 40,000, amounting to only 16% of Musk's annual goal of 250,000 units.

The WSJ commented, "The Cybertruck has become a symbol of controversy intertwined with Musk's political moves, with some owners experiencing unpleasant incidents like graffiti on their vehicles or receiving obscene gestures from other drivers. Due to frequent recalls and manufacturing defects, owners have had to repeatedly seek repairs, significantly damaging the Cybertruck's reputation even among Tesla fans."

I still think it's cool, and while I think Tesla itself will be just fine, I can't see the Cybertruck ever really taking off after the political stuff:

1. The CT factory cost $1.1 billion. They are stuck with the design.
2. As his name is so strongly tied to the Tesla brand, his political activity negatively tarnished the CT brand
3. The CEO alienated his core base (well-off, eco-friendly democrats) & is currently alienating his new demographic (republicans)
4. The rollout has not met the advertising:

a. Shrunk size that led to an even weirder design
b. Endless recalls
c. FSD/AP feature withdrawal (ex. no Autosteer unless you spend $8,000 on Autopilot)
d. Extended battery removed
e. Hugely inflated price
f. No 500-mile battery
g. No electric ATV & no angled ramp
h. No boat mode

It's been disappointing to put in a reservation, wait 6 years, have the launch version start at triple the price with fewer features, and then become a hated political symbol. Oh well!

My buddy's launch version has had zero problems & he fortunately hasn't gotten any hate for it. I ended up getting a refund on my CT reservation. We wanted a city version & a long-range business-commuter version. I loved the concept: no paint, has a bed, 500-mile battery, weird design. Perfect fit for my wishlist! But we're in no rush, so we're aiming for a Slate as a city car, as we still want an EV & 240 miles is plenty for that. Still looking for a long-range EV for work tho!

I'll miss seeing the fun potential it had for decoration!

 

[lxskllr]

Heh... A cyberwoodie. I almost like that. A shame the panels will blow off driving down the road :^D

 

[Kaido]

Heh... A cyberwoodie. I almost like that. A shame the panels will blow off driving down the road :^D

They finally kinda-sorta have a $60k version:




Lease deal: (AWD is only $20 more per month lol)

https://www.autoblog.com/carbuying/tesla-cybertruck-lease-offer-june

 

[Kaido]

Great video:

 

[Kaido]

Farmer experiments:

 

[lxskllr]

I don't believe him. He's either delusional, or being paid off.

 

[Kaido]

I don't believe him. He's either delusional, or being paid off.

Crossing my fingers the used market hits the $40k OG price! hahaha

 

[Brainonska511]

Crossing my fingers the used market hits the $40k OG price! hahaha

It could be free and I still wouldn't drive it.

 

[Kaido]

22" wheels:

 

[Kaido]

Sandy Munro dismantles the EV truck hype: (24 minutes)

 

[Kaido]

‘Defectively designed’ Cybertruck burned so hot in crash that the driver’s bones literally disintegrated: lawsuit

Tesla Cybertruck burned so hot in crash, driver’s bones literally disintegrated: suit

Exclusive: “There’s my challenge to Elon,” attorney S. Scott West told The Independent. “Make these vehicles so safe that I don’t have to do this anymore.”

www.independent.co.uk

Michael Sheehan, 47, "burned to death at 5,000°F – a fire so hot his bones experienced thermal fracture," according to a gut-wrenching lawsuit his widow and parents have now filed against the electric auto manufacturer headed up by billionaire Elon Musk.

That was one of my concerns with the design:

1. No doorhandles
2. Metal everywhere
3. Reinforced windows

 

[Red Squirrel]

The lack of mechanical handles on any vehicle is so dumb. Should never have to rely on electronics for basic functions like being able to exit or enter. Seems like a huge safety hazard.

 

[bbhaag]

The lack of mechanical handles on any vehicle is so dumb. Should never have to rely on electronics for basic functions like being able to exit or enter. Seems like a huge safety hazard.

The CT has a mechanical release handle just like every other vehicle that uses electronic doors does.

So I will preface this by saying I am not a Tesla, CT, or Elon fanboi or apologist. I have not read or researched this story beyond the article that @Kaido has linked to.

So with that out of the way there were two things that stuck out to me in the article

The first is that the lawsuit is claiming that the manufacturer did not educate the purchaser enough on how the vehicle is operated. Sorry bro but this is pretty par for the course. I've purchased two new vehicles in the past 3 years and nobody walked me through how the vehicle operates. One of them was a 2023 Mustang Mach-E that that uses electronic doors and at no point did anyone at the dealership show me it has a mechanical opener and how to use it.
I learned about it on my own by RTFM and researching online.

Second is the operator of the vehicle was under the influence. So you have an inebriated person operating a piece of heavy equipment that can travel at high speeds and they did not familiarize themselves with the equipment they are operating.......yeah what could go wrong?

I will say that on a lot of these newer vehicles with electronic doors that the mechanical backup is hidden and out of site but that should not be an excuse used to not fully understand the piece of equipment you are operating and how it works. Once again RTFM.

 

[Kaido]

The CT has a mechanical release handle just like every other vehicle that uses electronic doors does.

It's the lack of exterior door handles that scares me (others Teslas have an external one that pops out), especially if you need someone to help you from the outside:

Cybertruck crash report says witness could not open door to save victims

Three college students were killed in the November collision in Piedmont.

oaklandside.org

Riordan and another witness caught up to the fiery Cybertruck only moments after the crash and immediately raced to help their friends, according to Riordan’s account in the CHP report.

First, Riordan tried to pull a “mangled” front right door by sliding his fingers inside the crack, but “nothing budged at all,” he told investigators. He then tried to open the doors by pressing the electronic buttons of the doors, but they were not working.

Riordan “attempted to punch the window to no avail” and grabbed a tree branch to bash the window. After he struck it 10 to 15 times, the window cracked, allowing him to pull it out of its frame. He then pushed away the airbag that had deployed to pull a “barely conscious” Miller from the front right seat. After leaving Miller with the other witness, Riordan screamed at the other passengers to get out, but they were stuck in their seats as the fire grew.

Tsukahara, seated in the back with Nelson, attempted to get out through the same front-right window but retreated when the fire continued to engulf the car. When Riordan was finally able to break through the back window, the fire had gotten so hot and large, he was unable to reach into the back to save them. The three college students died inside the car.

Random passengers aren't going to know to look under a panel to open the doors manually n an emergency situation:

The main issue is that the doors of a Tesla, as well as those of some other manufacturers’ electric vehicles, rely on electronic power “to disengage electronic latches,” the Detroit engineer said. The electronic design schemes rely on the car maintaining power to open the door instead of a simple mechanical latch.

On the Cybertruck, this entry-and-exit issue may be worse, as there are emergency pull cords in “obscure locations which often require rear seat passengers to remove door paneling to access,” Cook said in an email. This mechanism is described in the owner’s manual of both the Cybertruck and the Model Y vehicles.

Four Passengers Die in Burning Tesla After Electronic Doors Seemingly Won't Open

Four people died after a Tesla crashed and burst into flames, while a fifth person narrowly escaped after a bystander broke open a window.

futurism.com

Doctor burned to death in Tesla because door handles didn't pop out

Dr. Omar Awan, 48, (right) died in February 2019 after crashing his Model S on South Flamingo Road in Broward County, Florida (left).

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[bbhaag]

It's the lack of exterior door handles that scares me (others Teslas have an external one that pops out), especially if you need someone to help you from the outside:

Cybertruck crash report says witness could not open door to save victims

Three college students were killed in the November collision in Piedmont.

oaklandside.org

Random passengers aren't going to know to look under a panel to open the doors manually n an emergency situation:

Four Passengers Die in Burning Tesla After Electronic Doors Seemingly Won't Open

Four people died after a Tesla crashed and burst into flames, while a fifth person narrowly escaped after a bystander broke open a window.

futurism.com

Doctor burned to death in Tesla because door handles didn't pop out

Dr. Omar Awan, 48, (right) died in February 2019 after crashing his Model S on South Flamingo Road in Broward County, Florida (left).

www.dailymail.co.uk

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Yep, like I said I have not read or researched anything beyond what you linked to in your post #3,116

So I will preface this by saying I am not a Tesla, CT, or Elon fanboi or apologist. I have not read or researched this story beyond the article that @Kaido has linked to.

So here is what I said that you did not respond to. This is on par you. You like to pick and choose what you respond to.

The first is that the lawsuit is claiming that the manufacturer did not educate the purchaser enough on how the vehicle is operated. Sorry bro but this is pretty par for the course. I've purchased two new vehicles in the past 3 years and nobody walked me through how the vehicle operates. One of them was a 2023 Mustang Mach-E that that uses electronic doors and at no point did anyone at the dealership show me it has a mechanical opener and how to use it.
I learned about it on my own by RTFM and researching online.

Second is the operator of the vehicle was under the influence. So you have an inebriated person operating a piece of heavy equipment that can travel at high speeds and they did not familiarize themselves with the equipment they are operating.......yeah what could go wrong?

 

[Kaido]

So here is what I said that you did not respond to. This is on par you. You like to pick and choose what you respond to.

This is due to relevancy. It's two different discussions:

1. Your posts are referencing the nature of the lawsuit due to a stated lack of dealer education, as well as driver intoxication & speeding.

2. Separate from that, my post was about personal safety concerns with the CT design, namely the lack of exterior door handles & Armor Glass for bystanders outside to help people trapped inside...regardless of end-user door-handle training, drinking, and driving over the speed limit.

Random people don't know how to open cars without door handles that also use reinforced glass. The bystander in the article had to use a tree branch repeatedly to assist extraction & was unable to save everyone in time as a result of access difficulties. First responders have specialized tools to help get people out, but in the event of a serious injury or fire, they may not have enough time to get there, as was unfortunately the situation in this case.