Imagine you’re driving down the road in your brand new Tesla Cybertruck, and suddenly, the vehicle won’t stop accelerating.
For some Cybertruck customers, this frightening scenario became a reality because of an accelerator pedal cover that would slide up and become lodged in the vehicle’s interior trim. The cover would get stuck when the pedal was already pressed down, holding it in that position so that the car would continue to accelerate even if the driver took their foot off the pedal.
Now, Tesla has recalled every Cybertruck that has been delivered to a customer – all 3,878 of them.
Cybertruck recalled
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Tesla is recalling the Cybertruck due to “Unintended Acceleration from Trapped Pedal.” The agency describes the issue as “a trapped accelerator pedal can cause the vehicle to accelerate unintentionally, increasing the risk of a crash.”
It’s not completely out of the ordinary to see a Tesla vehicle being recalled. However, as Elon Musk fans and Tesla owners are usually quick to point out, those recalls usually require a fix that can be made with a software update. There’s normally no need to bring your vehicle to a Tesla service location.
However, that’s very much not the case with the Cybertruck. The accelerator pedal fix will require owners to take their vehicle to a Tesla service center.
The NHTSA says that Tesla intends to “replace or repair the accelerator pedal assembly, free of charge.”
What is causing the problem? According to Tesla, during testing, it discovered that “an unapproved change introduced lubricant (soap) to aid in the component assembly of the pad onto the accelerator pedal” and that “residual lubricant reduced the retention of the pad to the pedal.”
As previously reported, earlier this week, Tesla quietly stopped Cybertruck production and deliveries shortly after social media videos from Cybertruck customers who had experienced the accelerator pedal cover dislodging began to go viral.
According to the recall, Tesla first heard about the incident happening to a customer on March 31. Just days later, on April 3, another customer reported the same issue to the company.
Tesla says it decided to issue a recall on April 12. The company will be sending notification letters to current Cybertruck owners in the coming months. Cybertrucks that are awaiting delivery will receive the fix as well. Finally, Tesla is equipping Cybertruck vehicles in production with a new accelerator pedal component.