Tesla Motors has made countless breakthroughs in the automotive industry with revolutionary electric vehicles and even autonomous driving that requires no constant supervision from operators. On Nov. 21, 2019 Elon Musk, Tesla Motors CEO infamously announced the launch of the ‘Cybertruck’. He explained how it would be durable and the windows armored, then in a demonstration he threw a steel ball at the window which shattered it. On the announcement date, Musk claimed that the Cybertruck would reach customers for just $39,900 in late 2021.
The next announcement was on Aug. 8, 2021 when Tesla cited production issues causing the release date to be pushed back to early 2022. Then on Jan. 31, 2022 the release date was once again delayed to late 2022. This was followed by an announcement on Nov. 1st, 2022 that the release would be in late 2023 with production beginning in mid-2023.
When the first production model was produced in July 2023, the first critical issue recognized by industry experts was that the doors did not align with each other and the rest of the car. This problem was specifically highlighted since other Tesla models are also known for alignment issues with their doors. The issues on their door continued throughout the entire production process and was never corrected even despite Musk promising to eliminate the problem in 2021.
The first recognition that the Cybertruck’s poor quality was noticed by Tesla themselves came on Aug. 24, 2023 in a now leaked email Musk himself described several concerns of the notable build of the vehicle. A chief concern he had was that the straight panels of the vehicle’s exterior being made of bright metal would make any slight defect extremely noticeable.
On Dec. 1, 2023 Tesla announced that rather than the $39,900 starting price initially promised, the starting price point would be a grand $60,900. Despite the price nearly doubling, consumers were still eager to purchase the truck after years of anticipation and having to wait.
With the Cybertruck finally being in the hands of consumers, the first issue requiring attention came on Feb. 2nd, 2024 when Tesla determined that the small size of icons such as brake and park indicators on their display increased the risk of collision. To mitigate this an over the air software update was promptly issued to increase the size of these icons.
However just 20 days later several owners reported that their vehicles had begun to show signs of rust despite the supposedly stainless steel exterior of the vehicle. This was especially devastating to the reputation of the vehicle as the notable style was highly touted as durable and rugged. On Feb. 28, 2024 several owners reported over 25 different critical errors such as loss of steering and sudden vehicle failure where the motors would stop working and once operators pulled over their new Cybertruck would never start again. Reports of these critical failures continued to grow as time passed.
Tesla made the decision to halt all Cybertruck deliveries on Apr. 15, 2024 due to a critical safety failure where the accelerator pedal was found to be easily able to get stuck in the fully depressed position causing the vehicle to accelerate. Then just 4 days later, Tesla made the decision to physically recall every single Cybertruck on the road due to the dangers posed to buyers and everyone on the road.
It is unknown whether or not Tesla will continue forth with production of the vehicle but one thing is for certain, the tarnished legacy of the Cybertruck will remain in the minds of countless Americans from the immense media coverage.
