Tesla Cybertruck breaks down after going through car wash
Tesla Cybertruck owners have reported incidents of their electric pickup truck breaking down after taking it through a car wash.
Just two months after buying the $80,000 Cybertruck, and with less than 3,400 miles (5,500km) on the clock, one owner said the vehicle stopped working after washing off some sand following a trip to the beach.
TikTok user @captain.ad shared a video of his broken down Cybertruck, revealing that he could not get it to work despite attempts to reset it.
Commentors described it as a “tin can” a “lemon”, and a “paperweight”, while joking that it may be bulletproof, but it does not appear to be waterproof.
The broken down Cybertruck eventually started working again after a five-hour computer reset triggered by pushing two buttons on the steering wheel.
“What [Tesla] said was, ‘It is a known issue in the Cybertruck that when you do a screen reset, instead of resetting in the standard two minutes, it takes five hours’,” @captain.ad said. “Hopefully it gets addressed in a future software patch.”
Tesla includes several warnings in the Cybertruck’s owner manual about the risks involved in washing the vehicle.
It includes a caution to not wash it in direct sunlight, as well as advice on how to prevent damage when going through a car wash.
”Failure to put Cybertruck in Car Wash Mode may result in damage (for example, to the charge port or windshield wipers),” the manual states. “Damage caused by car washes is not covered by the warranty.”
The Independent has reached out to Tesla for comment.
The incident comes amid a major recall for Tesla’s latest vehicle following an unrelated issue with its accelerator pedal.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ordered Tesla to recall nearly 4,000 Cybertrucks manufactured between 13 November, 2023, and 4 April, 2024.
“When high force is applied to the pad on the accelerator pedal, the pad may dislodge, which may cause the pedal to become trapped in the interior trim above the pedal,” the NHTSA noted in its recall report.
“If the pad on the accelerator pedal becomes trapped in the interior trim above the pedal, the performance and operation of the pedal will be affected, which may increase the risk of a collision.”
Over the weekend, Tesla slashed the prices of several of its cars and software products following falling sales for the world’s most valuable automaker.
The company’s share price has fallen more than 40 per cent since the start of the year as a result of lower sales and increased competition within the electric vehicle sector.