Even presuming pieces weren't falling off, every time I see one of these my first thought is how did this pass safety standards (e.g. the sharp corners/blades/edges; pedestrian-strike setups).
Now add on flying corners/blades/edges ... even less enthused.
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I finally drove in a Rivian — and while I prefer the hybrid drivetrains — it was exceptionally nice. As an American, I can't wait for BYD to offer test drives here.
The issue stems from the primer applied before gluing the optional light bar to the windshield (no fasteners are used in the attachment of the light bar).
Is that typical in the industry, parts or components being glued onto an exterior surface instead of fastened?
I know Tesla and the various models have their issues but the Cybertruck and the rest of the Tesla models seem like they are made from two completely different companies. Every time I see one of these driving around trim pieces are missing from them which I don't recall seeing from any other brand.
Looking at the actual service manual, there appear to be no fewer than 10 warnings related to the use of the primer alone. There is also a separate step involving cleaning with IPA. This procedure seems like it belongs in a chemistry lab more than a car shop. I can't imagine the average mechanic not fucking this up in some important way.
> Tesla’s fix will involve an additional redundancy to keep the lightbar affixed to the windshield, should the glue fail.
Good news - it only affects 6000 vehicles with the optional lightbar which is dealer installed. Bad news - Tesla finds it ok to let its dealers do glued lightbar installations and can't really fix the glue failing part so they are adding redundancy.
I can't believe they are still selling that abomination. The styling is not the same as their rest of the lineup, which was a major mistake. I personally wouldn't want a car that relies on glue that much.
They've also recalled powerwalks. Tesla is great at being visionary, their Achilles heal has always been their weak manufacturing. Which makes sense, its the really hard part about being in the car or battery business.
The least of its problems IMO, when the Cybertruck looks like it was designed to inflict maximum harm to pedestrians in a crash. The fact that such an obviously destructive design is legal on public roads should be setting off alarm bells at the USDOT and NHTSA.
I dodged a bullet. I bought into the original heavy stainless steel exoskeleton concept, which they never delivered on. So they had my deposit. Then it took me a year and a half (!!) to get my deposit back from time of request, a dozen documented follow-ups on phone, email, and in-person at the stealership.
Tesla’s excuse: While they were happy to take a Canadian’s money with fully refundable deposit terms, they had not contemplated actually ever refunding a Canadian. The deposit was made by credit card. The only option offered for refund was a deposit to an American bank account.
It seems like no aspect of the Cybertruck project was done well.
It's a beta release product. Of course it has problems. I don't think any of Cybertruck's growing pains are remarkable.
IIRC, Tesla skipped the industry's normal typical period of real world testing for new platforms. That should have scared off most buyers.
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Cybertruck should have been rolled out like the Roadster. Exclusive, prestige, wrap-around customer service. The superfans would happily pay to participate.
There's always a (modest) market for niche vehicles, like the Cybertruck. eg Subaru Brat, VW The Thing (name?).
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Cybertruck has so much innovation, cool tech. 48V, drive-by-wire, the modular internet bus thing, 4 wheel steering, even bigger castings, etc.
Tesla was (initially) right to de-risk those things by using them in a (much) lower volume vehicle. And field test everything ahead of the high volume Model 2 / Robotaxi.
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The big, IMHO, mistake was juicing the stock price by hyping Cybertruck as Tesla's next home run.
> "Tesla Service will inspect the light bar and install an additional mechanical attachment or replace the light bar using tape to adhere the light bar to the windshield as well as an additional mechanical attachment as necessary, free of charge."
Tape? The fix is to add some tape? At least it's free...
I do not like the Cybertruck, the company that makes it, nor the man who owns said company.
That being said, I still appreciate seeing them out on the road as an example of what's effectively a concept car that made it to production. It also looks cool and stands apart aesthetically from pretty much everything else on the market, even if the giant 1-piece wiper and black plastic wheel well trim pieces mar the clean lines of the original design.
I'm not sufficiently familiar with the data to say whether or not Cybertrucks or Teslas have significantly more design problems or QC issues than other manufacturers, or if news outlets just latch onto the stories more because Musk's public behavior makes him such a lightning rod for controversy.
Regardless, I think the Cybertruck will go down in history as an iconic car and a symbol of the 2020s, even if it was an objectively bad product (think DeLorean).
This doesn't fit the narrative of "Elon bad" therefore the Ford 29k vehicle steering loss recall gets two upvotes whereas the Tesla 6k vehicle dealer-installer light bar issue gets hundreds of upvotes.
32 comments
[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 43.6 ms ] threadNow add on flying corners/blades/edges ... even less enthused.
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I finally drove in a Rivian — and while I prefer the hybrid drivetrains — it was exceptionally nice. As an American, I can't wait for BYD to offer test drives here.
Is that typical in the industry, parts or components being glued onto an exterior surface instead of fastened?
Good news - it only affects 6000 vehicles with the optional lightbar which is dealer installed. Bad news - Tesla finds it ok to let its dealers do glued lightbar installations and can't really fix the glue failing part so they are adding redundancy.
They've also recalled powerwalks. Tesla is great at being visionary, their Achilles heal has always been their weak manufacturing. Which makes sense, its the really hard part about being in the car or battery business.
Tesla’s excuse: While they were happy to take a Canadian’s money with fully refundable deposit terms, they had not contemplated actually ever refunding a Canadian. The deposit was made by credit card. The only option offered for refund was a deposit to an American bank account.
It seems like no aspect of the Cybertruck project was done well.
IIRC, Tesla skipped the industry's normal typical period of real world testing for new platforms. That should have scared off most buyers.
--
Cybertruck should have been rolled out like the Roadster. Exclusive, prestige, wrap-around customer service. The superfans would happily pay to participate.
There's always a (modest) market for niche vehicles, like the Cybertruck. eg Subaru Brat, VW The Thing (name?).
--
Cybertruck has so much innovation, cool tech. 48V, drive-by-wire, the modular internet bus thing, 4 wheel steering, even bigger castings, etc.
Tesla was (initially) right to de-risk those things by using them in a (much) lower volume vehicle. And field test everything ahead of the high volume Model 2 / Robotaxi.
--
The big, IMHO, mistake was juicing the stock price by hyping Cybertruck as Tesla's next home run.
Tape? The fix is to add some tape? At least it's free...
That being said, I still appreciate seeing them out on the road as an example of what's effectively a concept car that made it to production. It also looks cool and stands apart aesthetically from pretty much everything else on the market, even if the giant 1-piece wiper and black plastic wheel well trim pieces mar the clean lines of the original design.
I'm not sufficiently familiar with the data to say whether or not Cybertrucks or Teslas have significantly more design problems or QC issues than other manufacturers, or if news outlets just latch onto the stories more because Musk's public behavior makes him such a lightning rod for controversy.
Regardless, I think the Cybertruck will go down in history as an iconic car and a symbol of the 2020s, even if it was an objectively bad product (think DeLorean).
>Ford Recalls 29,500 F-150 Lightning EVs for Loss of Steering Risk
Musk Estimates Tesla Could Sell 250,000-500,000 Cybertrucks Yearly
https://insideevs.com/news/766162/tesla-cybertruck-sales-q2-...
Tesla Cybertruck Sales Fall Dramatically To Their Lowest Level In A Year