Tesla is recalling all 3,878 Cybertrucks that it has shipped to date, due to a problem where the accelerator pedal can get stuck, putting drivers at risk of a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The recall caps a tumultuous week for Tesla. The company laid off more than 10% of its workforce on Monday, and lost two of its highest-ranking executives. A few days later, Tesla asked shareholders to re-vote on CEO Elon Musk’s massive compensation package that was struck down by a judge earlier this year.
Reports of problems with the Cybertruck’s accelerator pedal started popping up in the last few weeks. Tesla even reportedly paused deliveries of the truck while it sorted out the issue. Musk said in a post on X that Tesla was “being very cautious” and the company reported to NHTSA that it was not aware of any crashes or injuries related to the problem.
The company has now confirmed to NHTSA that the pedal can dislodge, making it possible for it to slide up and get caught in the trim around the footwell.
Tesla said it first received a notice of one of these accelerator pedal incidents from a customer on March 31, and then a second one on April 3. After performing a series of tests, it decided on April 12 to issue a recall after determining that “[a]n unapproved change introduced lubricant (soap) to aid in the component assembly of the pad onto the accelerator pedal,” and that “[r]esidual lubricant reduced the retention of the pad to the pedal.”
Tesla says it will replace or rework the accelerator pedal on all existing Cybertrucks. It also told NHTSA that it has started building Cybertrucks with a new accelerator pedal, and that it’s fixing the vehicles that are in transit or sitting at delivery centers.
While the Cybertruck only first started shipping late last year, this is not the vehicle’s first recall. But the initial one was minor: Earlier this year, Tesla recalled the software on all of its vehicles because the font sizes of its warning lights were too small. The company unveiled the truck back in 2019.
