New York (CNN) – There is a mystery that is beginning to take root in my neighborhood. It’s the story of a person who spent between 80 and 100 thousand dollars, and maybe even more than that, on a Tesla Cybertruck that is always parked on the street, exposed to the elements, far from a charging station, losing value over time. every second.
That person—I promise to ask for a comment if we ever cross paths—and thousands of others in America have chosen to invest their money in one of the most divisive consumer products ever made. And as a business journalist, I can’t help but wonder what drives people to shell out so much money for such a new, decidedly strange-looking car that has been plagued with performance problems since day one.
And driving something different than anything else on the road certainly says… something.
“It’s a vehicle that’s certainly meant to make a statement,” said Jonathan Elfalan, Edmunds director of vehicle testing. “You can almost be a pseudo-celebrity by owning one.”
Of course, Elfalan notes, it’s not one Edmunds recommends to people looking for, say, a pickup truck.
Since Tesla launched the Cybertruck late last year, two years late and tens of thousands more than the originally promised purchase price, owners and professional reviewers have not been shy about disclosing the vehicle’s flaws. And I’m not even talking about its futuristic garbage dump aesthetic, although that certainly gives critics plenty of ammunition. I’m talking about its chronic recalls and design features that make it a unique beast to encounter on the road.
Here’s a brief look at some of the Cybertruck’s problems.
In less than a year, the vehicles have been recalled four times, two of which required them to be taken to service centers for repairs and another two of which were simple software fixes.
Last week, the magazine Car and Driver They said the Cybertruck wasn’t even on their “EV of the Year” list because the one they reviewed crashed on its second day of testing.
Tesla markets the Cybertruck as “bulletproof,” but at least one owner found their vehicle was disabled for several hours after take it to a car wash.
And then there are the videos.
Multiple viral videos have circulated showing Tesla Cybertrucks getting bogged down in all kinds of situations, situations that perhaps a more typical truck would be able to get out of. But whether or not it is the fault of the truck itself or its typical owner, the chief engineer of Tesla’s Cybertruck, Wes Morrill went to X to acknowledge that “real people” were experiencing problems, and said it was considering adding a “jam detection” mode to the vehicle’s software, which would “give drivers a pop-up suggestion when they are stuck with ideas on how to get out of it.” .
And then there are the specs: The Cybertruck is a 7,000-pound, sharp-angled stainless steel box that can go from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.6 seconds. Like many large electric pickup trucks, it’s twice the weight of the average car on the road, and much, much faster. (For reference: a 2015 Toyota Rav 4, like the one I drive, goes from 0 to 100 km/h in about 8 seconds.)
And that poses a physics problem for anyone who might have the misfortune of being hit by a Cybertruck.
“I can’t think of any other vehicle that looks as lethal to a pedestrian as a Cybertruck, just from the way it looks and from actually running my finger over that edge,” Elfalan tells me.
Tesla, which rarely answers questions from the media, did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on Wednesday. In December, CEO Elon Musk said the company was “very confident that the Cybertruck will be much safer per mile than other vehicles, both for occupants and pedestrians.”
To be sure, any heavy, high-profile truck poses risks to pedestrians and cyclists, and the Cybertruck isn’t even the heaviest vehicle on the road. The GMC Hummer EV, for example, weighs more than 4,000 kg. Electric vans in particular create a nightmarish hazard for pedestrians and cyclists, given their weight and power.
But the Cybertruck’s sharp edges and huge blind spots (mitigated by cameras) have raised concerns among consumers. security experts from the beginning.
Part of the reason many of the new cars on the road today all look similar, with rounded edges and inflated hoods, is because automakers are thinking about pedestrian safety, Elfalan says.
The Cybertruck’s design, including its stainless steel panels, appears to run counter to those advances.
A driver posted on an owners forum in May, saying that suffered a cut who needed stitches after hitting his leg on the door (“I still love the truck!” he wrote).
Safety experts have also raised questions about the vehicle’s seemingly small “crumple zone,” the section of a car designed to absorb the impact of a collision. In response, Tesla released a video in December of an internal crash test, along with a statement on .
But for now, all we have to rely on for safety promises is Tesla.
So far, neither of the two major independent safety testing organizations in the US have commented on the Cybertruck, and they are unlikely to do so unless sales increase significantly.
It’s not a total surprise. As recently explained Consumer Reports, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the industry-backed Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) together cover the vast majority of new cars. But they are unlikely to crash test the Cybertruck or other niche vehicles, given their limited resources.
NHTSA tests about 86% of new vehicles, “a broad representative sample that will help consumers make purchasing decisions about the vehicles that best fit their needs,” it said in a statement. An IIHS spokesman said its crash-testing budget is limited, so it focuses on big sellers.
“While it certainly has created a lot of buzz, it’s unlikely we would invest resources into testing it unless it sold in numbers comparable to other popular full-size pickups,” IIHS spokesman Joe Young told Consumer Reports in a statement confirmed by CNN.
Bottom line: Tesla is not a traditional automaker, and its customer base is unusually loyal.
Elfalan notes that the Cybertruck has some innovations – fantastic steering, a spacious cabin, a smooth ride – but the one Edmunds bought suffered. multiple system failures. That reflects Tesla’s Silicon Valley roots, which move fast and break things.
Although that could lead the electric car manufacturer to make mistakes similar to those of traditional home mechanics working on their gas guzzlers.
“They’re a technology company that makes vehicles, and I think they’ve done a lot of innovative things, but moving quickly… I think there are oversights that can happen with things like that, like forgetting to fill a car with coolant.”
He adds: “But the customer base is so loyal that these things can happen, and you still love the vehicle you just spent $100,000 on.”
