The Tesla Cybertruck was officially delivered to early customers last December, but after many months of hype and intense promotion, it seems some customers are unhappy with the number of early bugs and issues that are starting to surface.
Most of the grumbling has taken place online, where a section of the Cybertruck Owners Club forum has decided to start a thread titled “Problems, Repairs, Warranty, Recalls.”
One owner here treated the group with a story about a huge breakdown just a mile away after picking up a four-wheel drive Cybertruck from a local dealer. According to user ‘Cyberstank’, the vehicle showed a steering error, caused the driver to stop and was subsequently unable to restart.
“Tesla really rushed these trucks out, what a nightmare,” the user wrote at the end of the post.
Other forum members then chimed in to offer their condolences, reporting that “many trucks are having high voltage issues associated with a harness, rendering trucks unusable,” according to fellow user FutureTruck.
In another high-profile Cybertruck accident, the Daily Mail reported that an owner suffered from brake failure just weeks after purchase, resulting in a collision with a pole. To make matters worse, the owner claimed the airbags did not deploy.
Other customers have complained rust formation on the Cybertruck’s stainless steel exterior, while Brian Reese, the CEO of T Sportline, an aftermarket parts manufacturer specializing in Tesla, dealt with YouTube to explain a serious design flaw in the EV maker’s aerodynamic hubcaps.
According to Reese, these plastic sleeves dig into the sidewall of the tire and can cause premature degradation of the rubber and potentially compromise the structural integrity of the tire itself.
Again, the Cybertruck Owners Forum claims Tesla is aware of the problem and reports that some new Cybertrucks are coming without hubcaps. Tesla reportedly has been approached to comment on some of the issues raised in the article, but has not yet responded.
Do these issues affect resale value?
Tesla famously introduced a clause into its Cybertruck owner contracts stating that it would take legal action if customers decided to sell their vehicles within the first year of ownership.
Musk’s company then appeared to retract the statement, before reinstating it to prevent owners from “flipping” their trucks – or profiting from exploiting Cybertruck’s huge demand and limited supply at the time.
But according to The Autopianthat analyzed used Cybetruck prices on popular US car sales channels such as Bring a Trailer, Cars and Bids and CarGurus, prices of Musk’s steel giant have fallen in recent months.
In February Automotive News reported that a Florida dealer had purchased a Cybertruck at auction for $244,000, despite the vehicle costing $102,235 when purchased new from Tesla. It was then placed on the forecourt with a sticker price of $289,999.
But prices are cooling down Bring a trailer he reportedly recently sold one for $160,000, while used car sales website CarGurus is offering used models for as low as $149,000.
This still represents a solid profit compared to Tesla’s retail price, but as production increases and demand cools, expect used Cybertruck prices to drop quickly.
If Cybertruck is anything like other luxury electric cars on the market, it could reach a point where it loses up to 50 percent of its value, just like the Porsche Taycan and Mercedes-Benz EQS models.