Elon Musk's Tesla recalls most Cybertrucks due to trim panel risk
Tesla has issued a recall for nearly 46,100 of its Cybertrucks because an exterior trim panel on the vehicles could potentially pose a hazard.
A recall report from the electric vehicle company said Tuesday that an exterior trim panel called a cant rail could potentially come off the affected vehicles if it delaminates.
A cant rail that falls off while the truck is being driven "can become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash," according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The recall could prove to be a setback for Tesla, whose stock has lost about half its value this year as the EV automaker grapples with rising competition, an aging lineup, and backlash against CEO Elon Musk’s controversial role overseeing cuts to federal spending in the Trump White House.
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There haven’t been any crashes, injuries or deaths from Cybertruck cant rails detaching, according to the NHTSA recall report. However, just over 151 warranty claims potentially linked to the issue have been sent to Tesla as of mid-March.
The company produced the Cybertrucks that are under recall for cant rail issue between mid-November of 2023 and late February of this year, the recall report said.
While Tesla does not break out deliveries of its Cybertrucks, the recalled vehicles represent a vast majority of the Cybertruck vehicles on the road, based on analyst estimates.
Tesla said it will install a new cant rail that "meets durability testing requirements" on the recalled Cybertrucks for free.
The replacement cant rail "uses a different structural adhesive not prone to environmental embrittlement to join the assembly, which is reinforced with a stud welded to the stainless panel with a nut clamping the steel panel to the vehicle structure," the automaker said in the NHTSA report.
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Affected customers can expect the panel replacement process to take about one hour, according to Tesla.
The automaker "will contact you to schedule a service appointment when the parts become available in your regions to replace the cant rail free of charge" on the recalled Cybertrucks, it said.
Tesla accounts for a large portion of recalled vehicles in the U.S. In 2024, Tesla topped the list for U.S. recalls with its vehicles accounting for 5.1 million call-backs, according to recall management firm BizzyCar. However, most issues for the brand’s cars were usually resolved with over-the-air software updates.
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In addition to the Cybertruck, Tesla’s lineup of vehicles includes the Model S, Model 3, Model Y and Model X. It also produces electric semi-trucks.
Cybertrucks first began hitting the market in November 2023.
Reuters contributed to this report.