Just when Tesla’s Cybertruck seemed like it might finally make the leap from sci-fi prop to actual functioning vehicle, the company announced a recall of nearly 4,000 of them. The culprit? An accelerator pedal that apparently took its job a little too seriously and became overly enthusiastic during use.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, always a wet blanket at the vehicular party, reports that the accelerator pedal pad can come loose, which poses a not insignificant issue when it gets trapped in the interior trim, resulting in what some might call a very literal case of runaway acceleration. Tesla, ever quick to solve problems once dozens of people complain on Reddit, told regulators it had identified 3,878 affected vehicles, all manufactured between November 13, 2023, and April 4, 2024. Impressively, that’s most of them.
The issue came to Elon Musk’s attention after a video went viral showing the Cybertruck’s pedal misbehaving like a caffeinated toddler. Tesla began an internal investigation on March 31, giving the vehicle almost five months to live on the edge before someone at HQ said perhaps it was time to have a look under the hood. After all, customers had been reporting the problem since as far back as March 31, though in true Tesla fashion, production continued until April 4. Nothing like a mild defect to keep things spicy.
Tesla’s fix is charmingly simple. They plan to replace or repair the entire accelerator pedal assembly in affected trucks, presumably with one that prefers to remain attached. Owners should be relieved to know that software will not be among the fixes. This one, it turns out, actually requires touching the car with tools, not code.
This latest recall joins a surprisingly crowded party of Tesla updates in 2024, during which the company has already registered multiple recalls for issues ranging from Autopilot hiccups to doors that do not think child locks are particularly useful. But in fairness to Tesla, this is the first time the Cybertruck has been recalled due to being too eager to move forward. Literally.
Naturally, the company assures the public that there have been no injuries or crashes as a result of the defect, which is either reassuring or a testament to how few of these metal trapezoids are actually roaming the roads.
The Cybertruck may resemble a futuristic tank, but it seems for now it still needs a bit of tuning before it’s ready to conquer suburban driveways across America.
Turns out even the toughest truck can get tripped up by a loose pedal.