At some point in the last year, you might have been driving down the highway and seen a shiny dumpster with wheels cruising next to you. This object is a car, claimed by some to even be a truck called the Tesla Cybertruck. Originally unveiled in 2019 by Elon Musk, production had been delayed until November of last year when it was finally released for sale to the general public. In the last year, the car has been plagued by nearly every kind of problem imaginable, and some unimaginable.
In April, buyers noticed that the gas pedal could disintegrate into two different pieces, dangerously lodging the accelerator to the floor. Tesla quickly issued a recall, and the problem was resolved. In June, there were two safety recalls, both due to substandard build quality. The first involved plastic trim pieces that had not been glued to the side of the bed, resulting in the possibility of them flying off the truck and landing in the road. The second recall was related to the motor of the front windshield wiper. The cost of replacing just the blade, costs a full 75 dollars, much more than the usual cost of about 10 for other vehicles. The recall was due to the possibility of wiper motor failure.
Apart from recalls, there have been other issues with the car, a significant one came to light in a video by YouTuber WhistlinDiesel. In the video Cody, the main commentator on the channel conducts a test of the Cybertruck, comparing it to a several year old base model Ford F-150. At one point in the video, the hitch of the Cybertruck lands on a concrete ledge, putting extreme pressure on the hitch, and on the frame of the Cybertruck. The frame of the Cybertruck dangerously broke as a result of this, showing a clear failure in the building of the vehicle. Some argue that any truck would’ve broken under these conditions, to disprove in the video that the F-150 was placed under the same stress with no consequences.
The Cybertruck also uses the controversial steer by wire steering system, this means that there is no actual link between the steering wheel and the wheels, it is completely electronic. This also means that in a vehicle that can easily run out of electricity, when it does there is no way to steer the vehicle out of harm’s way. The electronic steering also has been described as unpredictable and difficult to operate when on a narrow road. In addition to the difficulties of the steer by wire system it has also in the past proven unreliable in other vehicles, which is why it is not commonly used.
