Tesla, a future case study for securities law classes across America, had to stop delivering Cybertrucks this past weekend. No, not because the hundred-thousand–dollar medium-duty pickup, which is only any of those things in the loosest interpretive sense, tends to brick when it gets rained on; nor because its stainless steel panels get all rusty and nasty-looking after weeks exposed to the rare, harsh condition of “being outside.” Perhaps you think it has something to do with the shorter-than-advertised driving range and longer-than-advertised charging time, but no: Rather, the cause of this snag is that the trucks struggle with the basics of stopping and going, by which I mean that the accelerator pedal cover slides off and gets stuck under a panel and locks the accelerator pressed down and keeps the Cybertruck stuck at maximum velocity.

Other Tesla models have had issues with speeding up and slowing down at the wrong times. The company was sued in 2017 by drivers whose cars drove themselves unexpectedly through garages and into walls; a German paper reported last year on over 2,400 complaints about sudden braking problems; and a safety researcher published a white paper showing how voltage spikes could lead Teslas to speed up without warning. You are supposed to like this because it means you are on the cutting edge, helping Elon Musk in his quest to save humanity.

Suckers who ordered Cybertrucks a few months or years ago and expected deliveries this weekend did not get their cars, nor a precise explanation for why they did not get their cars, but instead were simply told, “Hi, we have just been informed of an unexpected delay regarding the preparation of your vehicle. We need to cancel your delivery appointment for tomorrow and we will reach out again when we’re able to get you back on the schedule.” Maybe someone with a hot glue gun will get on this one.

  • averyminya@beehaw.org
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    8 months ago

    I just really hope the 7,000lb steel truck doesn’t crush someone to death. What a fucking awful design.

      • averyminya@beehaw.org
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        8 months ago

        Well, that’s the other thing. The Cybertruck has NO crumple zones, meaning in the event of a crash all of that energy is going into the passengers. I feel like at best you’d be lucky to get out with severe whiplash.

        Still, I’m more concerned about someone being flattened or worse, used for nefarious purposes. If anyone regrettably remembers when some peaceful protestors disrupting freeway traffic had a giant truck driving through them (not the Semi in Minneapolis but the regular Large Truck owner driving through an abortion rally protest, hitting 2 people).