Tesla is offering a Cybertruck accessory that it can't fully install
JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images
- Some Cybertruck owners seem to be getting their hands on the light bar accessory — but there's a catch.
- Tesla employees are not legally allowed to install the required electronics, the company says.
- One YouTuber said he had to finish installing the light bar on his Cybertruck himself.
Tesla Cybertruck owners will have to do some DIY if they want to equip their vehicles with one of its most eye-catching accessories.
The Foundation Series "Cyberbeast" version of Tesla's futuristic electric truck comes with an off-road light bar — an LED light fitting that sits above the front windshield.
The accessory, which Tesla says can illuminate up to 525 yards, did not ship with the Cybertruck when it launched last year and is set to be delivered in 2025.
Some owners appear to have got their hands on the product already — but may have to set it up themselves.
In a video posted on TikTok, YouTuber Marques Brownlee said that after Tesla emailed him to say it was ready to install the light bar on his Cybertruck, the company returned the pickup with a strip of black tape over the newly attached roof lamp.
Brownlee said the light bar was also not connected to the internal harness that allows it to get power. Tesla provided him with the parts and the phone number and address of a nearby mechanic who could finish the installation, he added.
Tesla says in its service manual that its employees are not legally allowed to install the required electronics.
"Tesla by law cannot install the lightbar electronics and configure the vehicle for lightbar control," the manual says, adding that Tesla staff "are not permitted to connect or assist with the connection of the Cybertruck off road lightbar harness to the roof accessory jumper harness connector."
The light bar also has to be covered with blackout film tape before being delivered to customers, but only the customer or a "third-party entity" is permitted to remove it, per the manual.
It's not the first time Tesla has used such a workaround.
Elon Musk said in 2021 that the Cybertruck would have "easy to remove" side mirrors after Tesla's initial plans to build it without them were thwarted by federal regulations requiring all vehicles to have them.
A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) spokesperson told Business Insider in December that automakers were prohibited "from knowingly making inoperative any aspect of a vehicle required for compliance with federal safety standards."
"NHTSA urges vehicle owners not to take any actions that would undermine the safety of their vehicles," they added.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.