“Tesla recalled all Cybertrucks Friday after federal safety regulators contacted the company over malfunctions with the vehicle’s accelerator pedal. New Cybertruck orders have been reportedly cancelled or stalled. The news follows numerous reports of embarrassing Cybertruck failures.
The recall represents a major blow to Tesla, which has weathered a difficult year, seeing poor earnings reports in recent quarters as competing Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers encroach on the electric vehicle market.
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Cybertruck owners reported that their vehicles were at risk of getting stuck driving at full speed due to a loose accelerator pedal. Video showed the pedal itself falling off and the piece beneath wedging itself into the car’s interior, which would force the vehicle into maximum acceleration. One driver was able to save himself from a crash by holding down the brake pedal. As of Monday, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had contacted Tesla regarding the issue, and the company announced the recall Friday. Tesla first became aware of this issue on 31 March, according to the filing. After assessing the problem, Tesla on 12 April decided to issue a voluntary recall of the Cybertrucks, the filing says.
The Cybertruck, which has long been a pet project for Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO, began deliveries in late 2023 after years of delay due to production problems and battery-supply constraints. Since then, numerous failures in the vehicle’s design and function have ranged from embarrassing to outright dangerous.
The trucks – which Musk once claimed would be the ‘best off-road vehicle’ – have been shown getting stuck in sand, snow and dirt, with one towed away by a Ford truck. Some owners have reported their new Cybertrucks have simply stopped running completely. Many have complained the truck’s stainless steel exterior rusts easily, and one owner said the windshield broke quickly in a hail storm. Musk himself claimed the car was bulletproof at its unveiling before cracking its window with a steel ball thrown by hand.
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Tesla shares fell below $150 this week, wiping away all gains the company made in the past year. The vehicle manufacturer said Monday that it was cutting 10% of its staff globally, about 14,000 jobs. Musk has also faced criticisms from investors who say he is stretched too thin after his purchase of social media platform Twitter, which he renamed X, in 2022. Meanwhile, Tesla has asked its shareholders to vote in favor of Musk’s $56bn pay package that was rejected by a judge earlier this year who called it an ‘unfathomable sum’.
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Brett Schreiber, an attorney who has represented clients affected by the faulty software, said he anticipates another potential wave of litigation from Cybertruck owners.
‘What we have seen perpetually with Tesla is the ethos of a tech company, wanting to push out product as quickly as possible, wrapped up in an automotive manufacturer, which should be far more intentional and thoughtful in producing vehicles,’ he said. ‘This is not an app, this is a multithousand-pound vehicle hurtling down our roadways at high speeds.’ “
-Paul, K. (2024, April 20). What the Cybertruck’s many failures mean for Tesla. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/20/cybertruck-failures-tesla-elon-musk
The last quote hits the nail on the head. Elon Musk is a sad, greedy man. He doesn’t care about making a safe vehicle of the future, he cares about making the shell of progress. He pathetically attempts to maintain the illusion that he is a successful businessman, a genius. His complete fumble of buying Twitter and gutting it and this sham of a truck honestly baffle me. How can this man have the success, wealth, and influence that he has? He is the kid who peaked in high school, only his football stardom was PayPal. As for SpaceX, I will give him no credit, as the engineers, scientists, and all other workers there are more responsible for its success.
I never want to be someone who favors profit over safety and fashion over function, grasping at a flimsy future that will never happen as I produce creations that prevent its fruition. Purpose in design is so important. While the flashy and conceptual can be fun, losing sight of why something needs to be made, forgetting the everyman, and sinking into a shallow puddle of lonely wealth can’t be worth it.
