Tesla recalls Cybertruck over ‘trapped pedal’ issue seen in owner’s viral TikTok video

Tesla
has
issued
a
voluntary

recall
of
3,878
Cybertrucks
to
fix
a “stuck
pedal”
issue
that
had
been
depicted
in
a
viral

TikTok
video
posted
last
week
by
owner
Jose
Martinez.

A
pad
on
top
of
the
Cybertruck’s
accelerator
pedal
could
come
loose
and
get
trapped
in
the
interior
trim
causing
unintended
acceleration,
a
Tesla
filing
with
the
National
Highway
Traffic
Safety
Administration
acknowledged.

Tesla’s
service
department
plans
to
replace
or
repair
the
accelerator
pedal
assembly,
free
of
charge
for
owners.

In
a

defect
notice,
Tesla
revealed
that
an “unapproved
change
introduced
lubricant
(soap)
to
aid
in
the
component
assembly
of
the
pad
onto
the
accelerator
pedal.
Residual
lubricant
reduced
the
retention
of
the
pad
to
the
pedal.”

Tesla
first
became
aware
of
this
issue
on
March
31,
2024,
according
to
the
filing.
After
assessing
the
problem,
Tesla
on
April
12
decided
to
issue
a
voluntary
recall
of
the
Cybertrucks,
the
filing
says.

Deliveries
of
the
Cybertruck
have
been
low,
with
under
4,000
units
shipped
since
CEO
Elon
Musk
kicked
off
deliveries
at
an
unveiling
event
on
Nov.
30,
2023,
the
filings
said.

The
company
reported

disappointing
first-quarter
vehicle
deliveries
for
2024,
totaling
386,810
cars.
That
represented
a
drop
of
8.5%
from
the
same
quarter
last
year.
Tesla
reports
first-quarter
earnings
on
Tuesday.

CNBC
asked
the
NHTSA
about
the
trapped
pedal
issue
on
the
Cybertruck
on
April
14,
after
Martinez’s
video
raised
public
awareness
of
the
defect
and
unintended
acceleration.

A
representative
for
the
NHTSA
said
on
Monday
that
the
agency
had
received
three
vehicle
owner
complaints
about
the
Cybertruck
and
that
the
agency
was
aware
of
the
video.
The
NHTSA
said
it “uses
many
data
sources
in
its
enforcement
processes,
including
social
media
and
vehicle
owner
and
other
related
forums.”

Correction:
This
article
has
been
updated
to
reflect
the
correct
date
of
the
Cybertruck
unveiling
event
in
2023.