back to article Unintended acceleration leads to recall of every Cybertruck produced so far

Tesla has issued a recall notice for every single Cybertruck it has produced thus far, a sum of 3,878 vehicles. Today's recall notice [PDF] by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that Cybertrucks have a defect on the accelerator pedal, which can get wedged against the interior of the car, keeping it …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    such a surprise

    Piss poor quality control and manufacturing processes cause problems with tesla cars amomg them deathtraps?

    Who'd have thought it...

  2. kameko

    I'm always terrified whenever I see a Tesla, those things have gone rogue and ran people over. If I'm walking down the street and see a Tesla coming my way, I'm always keeping an eye on it to get out of the way if it decides it wants to swerve into me.

    1. DS999 Silver badge

      Oh come on, I'm certainly no fan of Tesla or Musk, but this is ridiculous. When have they "gone rogue" and done that? Can you point to a single incident? There was a Waymo vehicle (I think) operated as an autonomous taxi that did that recently, and Tesla's self driving software still can't recognize stopped vehicles too well so it has rammed into the back of emergency vehicles on the side of the road more than once when their drivers aren't paying attention.

      But "going rogue and running people over", nope, don't recall that. And even if there are one or two cases, it is far more likely driver error will do that. Some idiot is backing up and gets confused and thinks they are slamming on their brake but hit the accelerator and go through a shop window across the street.

      The main vehicle I look out for are jacked up trucks (if you don't live in the US you probably don't see these very often if ever) because the driver is so high up they can't see vehicles close to them very well.

      1. kameko

        One in China drove off with the passenger inside and they couldn't cause it to break. There's probably a few more cases but I really don't remember this stuff.

        Not to mention how Musk censors anything anti-Tesla on Twitter (please don't call that a conspiracy, this is Musk we're talking about), so that might be why you "never heard of it".

        And I'm honestly confused about your tangent on human drivers. I never said autopilot was a bad thing. I specifically don't trust Teslas because they have almost no quality control and Musk deliberately doesn't add critical sensors like LIDAR to them and forces the developers to rely solely on cameras, which would very easily make for an AI that has no idea what it's doing. There's many reasons why Teslas are dangerous. It has nothing to do with disliking Musk or distrusting autopilots, the cars themselves are actually made in a very dangerous way and have exhibited scary behavior.

  3. Steve Button
    Terminator

    ROTM?

    This story is filed under the wrong category.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: ROTM?

      ROTM - Rage Of The Musk?

      1. Steve Button

        Re: ROTM?

        Right Old Toting Misanthropist

        1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

          Re: ROTM?

          Right Old Toting Toking Misanthropist

          FTFY

  4. Omnipresent Silver badge

    I'm convinced

    him, and others, are shorting their own companies before sabotaging them.

  5. KittenHuffer Silver badge
    Coat

    TITSUP!

    Tesla In Traffic Speeds! Unuseable Pedal!

    -----------> Mine's the one with the ejector seat and parachute!

    1. vtcodger Silver badge

      Re: TITSUP!

      Sure, they told you that you have an ejector seat and parachute. And charged you for it. But have you tested it? Betcha a beer that if it's there at all, the ejector is installed upside down. Trigger it and it'll fire you head first into the pavement where the vehicle will then run over you. The parachute? Very high tech in concept. But in reality made out of used matchsticks by child labor on some islet you've never heard of in the Caribbean.

      1. Bebu
        Windows

        Re: TITSUP!

        《Sure, they told you that you have an ejector seat and parachute. And charged you for it. But have you tested it? 》

        Even if everything was installed correctly (sans soap) and is likely to work you can safely bet the vehicle's roof is not going to remove itself from the ejection trajectory until 15 second after ejection. (Hard realtime programming error. The roof is hard.) Assuming the roof was removed correctly the parachute is likely to be deployed just before ejection.

        I would trust anything associated with Musk to design and build a penny farthing let alone anything with a chain and sprocket.

  6. Kevin Johnston Silver badge

    Remind me

    So, it isn't 'bulletproof', it doesn't handle off-road very well (bits fall off), the internal rear-view mirror only works when the loadbed tray is rolled open and now the pedals get jammed on by bodywork

    Other than looking like you have driven out of the Spectrum garage and could be Captain Scarlet...what are the good points?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      The possibility that you might now be indestructable?

      1. Wenlocke

        You forget the PSA at either the end or begjnning of several Captain Scarlet episodes.

        "Captain Scarlet is indestructible. You are not. Remember this, do not try to imitate him."

    2. MrXonTR
      FAIL

      Re: Remind me

      Also don't forget the stainless steel they chose is such a cheap alloy that it will rust if it ever gets wet. Fingerprints are caustic enough to damage it.

      Elon Musk is the John Delorean of our generation.

      1. Michael Strorm Silver badge

        Re: Remind me

        > Elon Musk is the John Delorean of our generation.

        Yeah, but for this particular remake-of-a-not-so-beloved 80s-IP-that-no-one-asked-for, I hear they're going to update the cocaine-smuggling plot near the end to involve ketamine instead.

      2. jospanner Silver badge

        Re: Remind me

        That’s unfair!

        Mr DeLorean, as far as we know, isn’t outrageously antisemiticly and transphobicly social media brained, addicted to his own multi-billion dollar private social media echo chamber.

        The more I think about that, the more pathetic it sounds.

        1. Michael Strorm Silver badge

          Re: Remind me

          DeLorean isn't *anything* these days other than long-dead.

      3. Lord Elpuss Silver badge

        Re: Remind me

        "Also don't forget the stainless steel they chose is such a cheap alloy that it will rust if it ever gets wet."

        The problem isn't that it's cheap; the problem is that it's stainless steel at all; which is patently unsuitable for the job here.

        PS it doesn't rust. It stains, which looks like rust but isn't. Stainless steel that... isn't.

    3. Eclectic Man Silver badge

      Re: Remind me

      Their unpainted steel body shells are truly 'wonderful' too. See https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/24/tesla_cybertruck_offroading_video/ and comments.

      But at least the documentation is complete ...

      "Unbeknownst to Levin at the time, Tesla recommends removing the wheel fairings when driving off-road. Trying to figure out how to remove them brought up another problem because no instructions are available. The Cybertruck infotainment system points owners to the Cybertruck DIY manual for instructions on removing the fairings, but the DIY manual says to consult the Tesla website."

      Oh.

      They really have not thought this through, have they?

      1. Michael Strorm Silver badge

        Re: Remind me

        > They really have not thought this through, have they?

        Are you still referring to the issue with the fairings here, or to the Cybertruck as a whole?

        1. Stoneshop

          Re: Remind me

          Yes.

      2. Stoneshop
        Flame

        Re: Remind me

        They really have not thought this through, have they?

        Do they ever?

        Fix things as you go is the current method, and if not it's fix afterwards.

    4. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: Remind me

      The TikTok video linked in the article (probably best to open in private mode) is also fun, the guy walks up to his Cybertruck holding half the accelerator pedal and you can see the body starting to rust.

      What a heap of junk.

      1. tomachi

        Re: Remind me

        This is all made a lot more spicy when you consider that:

        a) no way to kill the engine quickly like pulling the keys out of barrel

        b) no way to quickly get to neutral like pushing a level, instead you gotta "tap and hold"

        c) you have a single point of failure in that you now rely on the brake signal to stop the car

        d) dunno if you can "stop" the engine while moving, does it have a hand brake / foot brake?

        e) good luck getting to neutral after Fido slips it into drive while you feet are in the air

      2. david 12 Silver badge

        Re: Remind me

        holding half the accelerator pedal and you can see the body starting to rust.

        It will be interesting to see how this story develops in the next couple of years, but right now I don't believe it.

        Rust marks on the panels will be environment iron chips. Fingerprints will be oils, not etching. Cosmetic pitting may be a problem for people who live within a couple of blocks of the ocean. If you wash it in bright sunshine, you will see soap and hard-water residues.

        I assume there is some welding somewhere, so that should be watched for serious pitting.

        I don't have a stainless steel refrigerator because I can't afford one, not because they show fingermarks worse than plastic or enamel, even though that is true, it's not a problem for any of the kitchen or industrial equipment I've used.

        People are looking for a mirror finish on their new trucks. Those people should pay for the optional clear-coat. It's unrealistic and unmaintainable for exposed ss. It doesn't mean that ss is a bad choice for trucks though: there used to be a third-party option to replace the chassis of your Land Rover MKII with ss so you could run it in salt water.

        The SS has dictated the strange shape of the truck, it will be interesting to see what the long-term opinion is about that too.

        1. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

          Re: Remind me

          That sounds like a lot of poor decisions rolled into one, to me

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Remind me

          "The SS has dictated the strange shape of the truck, it will be interesting to see what the long-term opinion is about that too."

          calling elon muskytwat the SS might be a bit far, but yes he does seem to be on the far right supporting nazi side in my opinion.

    5. J. Cook Silver badge

      Re: Remind me

      But wait, there's more:

      door edges sharp enough to sheer vegetables and fingers.

      the 'frunk' (front trunk) can entrap fingers in it's gaps. (bad panel gaps in a tesla? color me shocked. /sarcasm)

      Can't wash the truck in direct sunlight

      can't used 'normal' glass cleaning fluids on the windshield, because it'll damage the single, massive wiper. (which Musk didn't want to add along with the side mirrors- the NTSB 'forced' Tesla to add those little tiny critical safety equipment to the machine.)

      The (forthcoming) 'battery capacity box' takes up space in the cargo bed.

      Oh yeah- NO SPARE TIRE INCLUDED WITH THE VEHICLE.

      If you want a spare tire, it'll take up half the bed space as well, making the two mutually exclusive, methinks.

      I could go on, but I think the point is made.

      If I want an electric truck at this point, I think I'll pick up a 1980's or early 90's one ton truck with a failed drivetrain and convert it to a hybrid diesel-electric power train from Edison Motors. (why that old? easy parts availability and fewer (if any) ECUs to deal with.)

      1. PB90210 Silver badge

        Re: Remind me

        How about a milk float...

        Proven technology (lead-acid) and a top speed (unmodified) under 10mph means you are unlikely to kill many pedestrians (you might mangle a few zimmer frames)

        1. Ashentaine

          Re: Remind me

          I dunno, I saw that Father Ted episode where Dougal got trapped on a runaway milk float, and that caused quite a bit of havoc. Granted a disgruntled milkman wired it to explode if it came to a stop, but still you never know these days!

          1. that one in the corner Silver badge

            Re: Remind me

            Maybe Tesla owners should hope for them to copy the single greatest innovation in that episode:

            An on-the-road Mass.

            After all, they clearly need all the help they can get.

      2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: Remind me

        "I could go on, but I think the point is made."

        You forgot, strategically placed heaters for de-icing, but none on the cold, LED headlamps, which you need to clean manually. Good luck driving through a snowstorm with that.

        (For those who may never have driven in snow shower/storm, you get a build up on the front of the car. Incandescent headlamps get hot and under most conditions, prevent snow build up on the lens. LED lights need heaters to prevent that)

    6. Nugry Horace

      Re: Remind me

      It's perhaps indicative of my age that I'd imagine something from the "Spectrum garage" as being designed in anodised black plastic by Rick Dickinson, with stylish rainbow flash across one of the corners, all powered by a 12v Hoover motor.

      1. steelpillow Silver badge
        Joke

        Re: Remind me

        And the roof and doors are optional extras that tend to fall off when you go over a bump, while the "real flying car" wings come in kit form and require you to supply your own feathers.

    7. Alumoi Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: Remind me

      You gave your money to Musk?

  7. bemusedHorseman
    Trollface

    Tesla screwed up? OH NO!

    Anyway...

  8. Howard Sway Silver badge

    every single Cybertruck it has produced thus far, a sum of 3,878 vehicles.

    It's what you might call a runaway success! People have whinged about the poor build quality, but nothing's going to stop them now! Soon they will be zooming out of the factory at an ever greater rate!

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: every single Cybertruck it has produced thus far, a sum of 3,878 vehicles.

      Maybe Musk will improve efficiency and deliver them to the customer pre-crashed.

      1. Adair Silver badge

        Re: every single Cybertruck it has produced thus far, a sum of 3,878 vehicles.

        ... and pre-rusted (that is a look you know).

        And as an option—a mere $1,000—pre-inserted bullet holes.

        Then there's the 'kit version'—comes in a large wooden crate, assemble the Cybertruck yourself (massive street cred)—a cool $10,000 extra.

        1. Chet Mannly

          Re: every single Cybertruck it has produced thus far, a sum of 3,878 vehicles.

          '... and pre-rusted '

          Think you mean 'cybertruck - with the all-new a patina finish' LOL

  9. ariels-again
    Go

    We had one too

    ... but the brakes came off...

    1. John Robson Silver badge
      Stop

      Re: We had one too

      Well actually even with the go pedal mashed to the floor, if you hit the brake pedal that overrides the accelerator...

      1. aerogems Silver badge

        Re: We had one too

        Which is probably a good thing since apparently Xitler hates gear shifters and thinks those should be AI controlled.

        1. John Robson Silver badge

          Re: We had one too

          Huh - who needs gears?

          1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

            Re: We had one too

            Why have a simple, reliable mechanical system when one controlled by poorly-written software will do?

            1. John Robson Silver badge

              Re: We had one too

              More to the point - an electric motor doesn't need multiple gears, it doesn't even need a reverse gear.

              The only reason gears exist in ICE vehicles is that the ICE is unable to start from stationary (needs a clutch/torque convertor), and has a very limited working range (needs multiple gears to achieve any significant variation in speed).

              An electric motor can start a vehicle from stopped, and can then spin up fast enough that you don't need any other gears.

      2. MachDiamond Silver badge

        Re: We had one too

        "Well actually even with the go pedal mashed to the floor, if you hit the brake pedal that overrides the accelerator..."

        One just has to hope that with a vehicle that accelerates as fast as the CT, there is time to asses the problem and stomp on the brake pedal before there's a serious accident. The 0-60mph figure for the 3 motor version is under 3 seconds (insert list of assumptions here) and it's on the list of fastest vehicles Road & Track has tested. The average person isn't experienced in that sort of performance. There's a reason why F1 drivers are put up with by teams even though they are often complete a-holes.

        1. John Robson Silver badge

          Re: We had one too

          It would only be mashed if you had mashed it, but even in that case - the instinctive response does the correct thing and overrides the accelerator.

    2. steelpillow Silver badge
      Windows

      Re: We had one too

      Back in my day it was "but the wheel fell off"

  10. aerogems Silver badge

    Remember when there were congressional hearings because something similar happened to like 3 Toyota vehicles? Now watch Xitler throw a major hissy-fit about how unfair this is and that the deep state liberal jewish cabal is out to get him and ruin his business despite the fact that this likely won't even be reported much outside of the automotive trade press.

    1. Eclectic Man Silver badge

      Re: 'the deep state liberal jewish cabal'

      Are they the same ones who forced Liz Truss out of the UK's Prime Minister office after a mere 49 days?

      "The UK’s main economic institutions – the Treasury, Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility (a “three-headed hydra”) – come under fire for standing in the way of her project, launched not with an election mandate but a Tory party selection process."

      From a review of 'Ten Years to Save The West' in that, presumably to Liz Truss somewhat to the left of Stalin, newspaper, 'The Guardian", https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/apr/18/trussonomic-lessons-what-learned-former-pm-book-liz-truss

      1. Michael Strorm Silver badge

        Re: 'the deep state liberal jewish cabal'

        Ironically, while those particular ramblings about a "deep state conspiracy" from Truss- a rationalisation of her personal incompetence and utter failure to herself as much as anyone else, it can safely be assumed- don't include any overtly anti-semitic elements, she *has* just had an antisemitic quote (i.e. one falsely attributed to one of the Rothschilds) removed from that same book.

        I would be inclined to believe that this wasn't intentional anti-semitism from Truss herself, but I think it's also likely that it's very much a result of the influence of the right-wing conspiracy-minded circles she's now moving in- ones which certainly do include such conspiracy-minded antisemitic extremists.

        I find it ironically *way* more shocking and unbelievable in hindsight than it was when she was in power that this borderline unhinged woman was *ever* prime minister. The perverse irony is that the fact she fouled the bed quite so quickly and comprehensively may- in hindsight- have been a blessing in disguise as it pretty much forced the Tories to get rid of her quickly before she did any more damage, a bullet inadvertently dodged even if the UK electorate is still paying the economic cost.

        But it's worth remembering that Truss is still very popular with large swathes of the Conservative party- remember, it was the Tory party members and no-one else who voted her into power as their first choice (over Sunak). And this makes clear why not just Truss but the party as a whole are unfit for government.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: 'the deep state liberal jewish cabal'

          Well, the party HQ really wanted Sunak and the voters really wanted "anyone but Sunak", so it was a foregone conclusion that Truss would win and immediately be removed just like Boris was.

          At least with Starmer in no 10 we're seemingly on track for some more Thatcherite economic policies, at least until the Labour militants manoeuvre him out. Rayner's tax troubles may delay that a bit.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Well, the party HQ really wanted Sunak

            Well, they really didn't but don't let that stop your brain fart.

            Labour Militants? Ha! They're not allowed within 100 miles of party hq.

            What the fuck are you on? Can I get some please?

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Well, the party HQ really wanted Sunak

              > "Labour Militants? Ha! They're not allowed within 100 miles "

              That's true, but they were right about the Tory-pandering Starmer and his Thatcherite policies.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: 'the deep state liberal jewish cabal'

            that you eely? and I'd ask if can we have some of what your smoking? but not keen on boris cock

          3. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

            Re: 'the deep state liberal jewish cabal'

            "and immediately be removed just like Boris was."

            Immediately does not equal approx. 3 years in my book. You seem to working with a previously unheard of definition of "immediately" than I am.

      2. PB90210 Silver badge

        Re: 'the deep state liberal jewish cabal'

        Strange that Truss couldn't find anyone to double-check her back-of-a-fag-packet budget... surely there must be some kind of experts she could of called on...

        1. Eclectic Man Silver badge
          Facepalm

          Re: 'the deep state liberal jewish cabal'

          Tragically, according to a certain editor of 'Private Eye'* Ms Truss complained that there were no experts 'on her side' of the economic debate about unfunded borrowing to cut rich people's taxes while cutting benefits from poor people. (I can only wonder why ...)

          I understand the 'antisemitic quotation' was actually something wrongly attributed to Rothschild (the jewish banker) which he never actually said. It is being removed from subsequent editions, which means I will have to avoid buying it twice (which frankly will not be a problem).

          *Ian Hislop, (on the latest edition of 'Have I Got News for You'), either a dreadful satirical muck-raker of the lowest order, or an upstanding paragon of virtue championing 'the little people' against misuse of power (he did campaign against the Post Office Project Horizon scandal for years before it was taken up by the mainstream press, after being alerted by Computer Weekly).

  11. Pascal Monett Silver badge
    Facepalm

    "press the brake pedal if the accelerator ever gets stuck"

    Wow. This actually had to be said.

    Is it just me, or is Humanity's IQ diminishing ?

    1. doublelayer Silver badge

      Re: "press the brake pedal if the accelerator ever gets stuck"

      I think they're just making sure the obvious is said because they don't have anything more confident to say. Not that pressing the brake means you're necessarily out of danger from the situation it got you in, but it's more likely than anything else to result in the outcome with fewer fires.

      1. vtcodger Silver badge

        Re: "press the brake pedal if the accelerator ever gets stuck"

        Well, you could turn it off as well or maybe instead. And maybe shift it into Neutral. It does have a Neutral, right? And it can be turned off?

        1. MachDiamond Silver badge

          Re: "press the brake pedal if the accelerator ever gets stuck"

          "And maybe shift it into Neutral. It does have a Neutral, right? And it can be turned off?"

          Certainly, you just need to be on the right page and able to accurately stab the correct place on the touch screen while being crushed into your seat and panicking.

    2. CountCadaver Silver badge

      Re: "press the brake pedal if the accelerator ever gets stuck"

      some cars have the power to overcome the brakes with ease so all you would do in those cases is just burn up the pads

      1. spuck

        Re: "press the brake pedal if the accelerator ever gets stuck"

        One would hope (but there I go again, being optimistic...) that since the Cybertruck is completely electronic the software would prioritize "if ( PRESSED == BRAKE_PEDAL )" over "if ( PRESSED == ACCEL_PEDAL )"

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: "press the brake pedal if the accelerator ever gets stuck"

          err, this is muskytwat software engineers we are talking about not the brightest sparks considering they took a job with that twat.

      2. vtcodger Silver badge

        Re: "press the brake pedal if the accelerator ever gets stuck"

        "some cars have the power to overcome the brakes with ease so all you would do in those cases is just burn up the pads

        Correct. But kind of 20th Century. The Cybertruck surely has regenerative braking. So over and above to some (inactive while the vehicle is moving?) mechanism (pads?, pins?, tiny robots leaping from the wheel well to install chocks?) for locking the wheels when the vehicle is powered down, it would likely be trying to use the motor both to drive the wheels as directed by the accelerator, as well as trying to suck power out of the wheels to feed back to the battery as directed by the braking circuits. I don't have the slightest idea what it'll do in that situation. Industry standard would be to display an unhelpful error code on the console then do something weird. Maybe turn on the entertainment system at full volume playing something like Funeral March of a Marionette.

      3. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
        Joke

        Re: "press the brake pedal if the accelerator ever gets stuck"

        Considering it's an EV and relies heavily on regenerative braking, and this is Tesla, one wonders if it actually has brake pads or were they deemed an unnecessary weight penalty.

    3. Bebu

      Re: "press the brake pedal if the accelerator ever gets stuck"

      《 "press the brake pedal if the accelerator ever gets stuck"

      Wow. This actually had to be said. Is it just me, or is Humanity's IQ diminishing ?》

      Another gem from one of the myriad alumni of the School of the Bleeding Bloody Obvious.

      We seem to be in the middle of intellectual limbo craze - how low can they go albeit without the pleasant music.

  12. Eclectic Man Silver badge
    Facepalm

    How stupid of me!

    The Tesla Truck is Elon's equivalent of the Ford Edsel.

    "The principal reason Edsel's failure is so infamous is that Ford did not consider that failure was a possibility until after the cars had been designed and built, the dealerships established, and $400 million invested in the product's development, advertising and launch."

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsel#:~:text=The%20principal%20reason%20Edsel's%20failure,product's%20development%2C%20advertising%20and%20launch.

    Now I understand.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Boffin

      Re: How stupid of me!

      > The Tesla Truck is Elon's equivalent of the Ford Edsel.

      Named after Ford's son, Edsel. The primary reason it failed was because of the name, Edsel .. Pretsel.

  13. OhForF' Silver badge
    Devil

    Anyone have an idea why people working for the man that knows more about manufacturing than anyone else on this planet feel the need to make unaproved changes to aid in the component assembly?

    1. spuck

      It doesn't take much thinking to imagine unapproved methods on the assembly line from the company that did this:

      * https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-model-y-wooden-trim

      * https://www.thedrive.com/tech/36274/tesla-model-y-owners-find-cooling-system-cobbled-together-with-home-depot-grade-fake-wood

      This is a culture thing. Management gives such creative thinking their approval either by looking the other way when it happens or by pushing their lines to meet production quotas by overriding QA checks.

      1. MachDiamond Silver badge

        "It doesn't take much thinking to imagine unapproved methods on the assembly line from the company that did this:

        * https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-model-y-wooden-trim

        * https://www.thedrive.com/tech/36274/tesla-model-y-owners-find-cooling-system-cobbled-together-with-home-depot-grade-fake-wood"

        On one hand, it IS a decent fix, but on the other, it lacks the polish to be found on a very expensive new vehicle. The strap arrangement seems like it would work if the worry was that there was too much mass cantilevered out for it to last long term, but I can think of several better designs that would allow that part to be removed and replaced without needing to have an uncommon tool to replace the metal strap. This is why car companies build a fleet of pre-production vehicles and put lots of miles on them. Running out of the proper parts on an assembly line is darn near inexcusable given all of the ERP software that's deployed. It's seems extreme to fly parts to a factory with a private jet, but companies will do that since stopping a production line costs hundreds of thousands of dollars per hour. It just so happens that Elon has a company that owns his Gulfstream jet and there are plenty of cargo companies with cargo fitted jets for this sort of thing. It not such a large and heavy part that it would easy to put several day's supply from the vendor on a small aircraft and rush them to the factory.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I doubt the assembly instructions were more detailed than "press the pedal to the metal"...

  14. BartyFartsLast Silver badge

    I see a collab

    Tesla partnering with Boeing to improve safety?

    1. Groo The Wanderer

      Re: I see a collab

      Using an Oracle ERP and Microsoft's Azure cloud services with iDevice front end apps...

      I mean, if we're going to fantasize about them improving quality instead of making the truck dance a tango instead of a waltz like the car, we may as well fantasize about a few things that never work miraculously working at Least This One Time!

    2. Eclectic Man Silver badge

      Re: I see a collab

      Yes, but an aeroplane that cannot go outside if it is raining* would be a bit limited.

      *I am assuming that a heavy downpour is somewhat like a car-wash, so how does this truck survive IRL? https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/20/cybertruck_car_wash_mode/

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: I see a collab

        "*I am assuming that a heavy downpour is somewhat like a car-wash, so how does this truck survive IRL? https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/20/cybertruck_car_wash_mode/"

        Tesla will soon be launching a national network of Tesla Superwash stations around the country, guaranteed to be within only a 3 hour drive of any Cybertruck owner. It can wash 80% of a Cybertruck in only 15 minutes using special chemicals and a final rinse in distilled water, filtered[*] to perfection.

        [*]I know, I know, but this is Tesla Marketing!

      2. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

        Re: I see a collab

        I had a similar thought. And what about driving through the salty slush that builds up on treated roads in the snowier part of the country? That stuff is loaded with electrolyte and gets all over the outside of the vehicle. It's tough enough on conventional cars; ones that don't like water are really in trouble.

        Owning a Cybertruck in Arizona would be bad; owning one in Michigan would be a disaster.

  15. Nematode Bronze badge

    Amazed to find out that it's not something digital gone awry.

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Oh it has, but the law is different there: no recall required, you just have to promise to provide an update sometime.

  16. PRR Silver badge
    Meh

    > it seems that in the process of making it easier to install the accelerator pedal, Tesla accidentally made it prone to breaking.

    Easy to assemble, easy to come apart.

  17. Groo The Wanderer

    I think it's high time to tag the acronym for what it really means: FSD - Fully Self-Defeating.

  18. Grogan Silver badge

    Hey, why worry. Nobody has ever died from unintended acceleration in a road vehicle (as long as there's no sudden, unintended deceleration occurring lol)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Acceleration" is change in velocity - in either direction. Sorry for being a jerk

      1. GBE

        "Acceleration" is change in velocity - in either direction. Sorry for being a jerk

        No, jerk is change in acceleration (third derivative of position with respect to time).

        Sorry for being a pedant.

        (Not really)

  19. Herring` Silver badge

    For Iain (M) Banks fans

    One hundred idiots make idiotic plans and carry them out. All but one justly fail. The hundredth idiot, whose plan succeeded through pure luck, is immediately convinced he’s a genius.

  20. MachDiamond Silver badge

    Since November

    They've only been able to build 3,878 of these. 250/week and they have ~2million reservations. The people on the end of that list or those that don't want all of the options are going to wait... hmmm, overflow on the calculator display..... 1500 years or did I lose the decimal place? I do that with the slide rule a lot. As far as I'm concerned, 1,500 years is the same as the heat death of the universe so we'll go with that. Tesla won't be able to fulfill current reservations on the Cybertruck before the heat death of the universe. Please spell my name correctly when you quote me.

    1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

      Re: Since November

      But if they double production it'll only take 750 years. Problem solved.

  21. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
    Alert

    RUA/RUD how they are related

    Rapid Unintended Acceleration may lead to Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly of the Cybertruck if it collides with a stationary solid object

  22. yetanotheraoc Silver badge

    OTA

    I thought it was FSD? Should be able to do this recall with a software update. Disable the accelerator pedal and reprogram the brake pedal as a multi-function pedal. It does either braking or accelerating depending on what you happen to need at the time. It just needs a catchy name like "smart acceleration".

    1. Martin an gof Silver badge

      Re: OTA

      You mean, like the sort of thing other manufacturers have been doing for some time? Like Nissan's e-Pedal?

      In an electric car, does the "brake" pedal actually have hydraulics behind it as a safety feature?

      M.

      (Edit: Oh, having actually finished reading the article I linked, Tesla already does the e-pedal thing :-)

      1. MachDiamond Silver badge

        Re: OTA

        "In an electric car, does the "brake" pedal actually have hydraulics behind it as a safety feature?"

        If it currently does, the latest comments on the earnings call have strongly hinted it won't in future. "Brake by wire" was specifically mentioned.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    introduced lubricant (soap)

    Added everywhere to help Elon wash his hands of every promised delivery schedule, feature set...

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: introduced lubricant (soap)

      Or, applied to every customer to aid in Tesla screwing them over?

  24. James O'Shea Silver badge

    Thanks for the warning

    There are at least two of those things here in Palm Beach County: one in Palm Beach Gardens, one in Royal Palm Beach. I go to PBG at least three times a week, and RPB at least once. I will be on the lookout for Kamikaze Rusty Stainless Steel Electric Death Mobiles with stuck accelerators. Banzai! Or, as the Musketeer is South African, Usuthu!

    Exits, to Men of Harlech, to watch Zulu (and competent South Africans) again.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How did they manage to find 3828 gullible buyers?

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