Tesla has initiated a recall of all 3,878 Cybertrucks it has distributed so far due to an issue where the accelerator pedal may become stuck, increasing the risk of accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made this announcement, which signifies a difficult time for Tesla. The company lost two key executives and fired nearly 10% of its workforce earlier last week. Not long after, Tesla forced a re-vote on CEO Elon Musk's huge compensation package, which had earlier in the year been declared unconstitutional by a court ruling.
Reports of accelerator pedal issues with the Cybertruck have surfaced in recent weeks. Tesla responded by temporarily stopping the car's delivery. Musk noted Tesla's cautious approach in a statement on the social media platform X. The company informed the NHTSA that there have been no reported crashes or injuries linked to the defect. However, Tesla has acknowledged to the NHTSA that the pedal can become dislodged and trap itself in the surrounding footwell trim.
A consumer reported the issue for the first time on March 31 and then again on April 3. Following testing, Tesla announced the recall on April 12 after learning that the pedal's attachment was compromised by an unapproved modification including the use of lubricant during assembly. Tesla has now promised to replace or fix the accelerator pedals on all Cybertrucks that are impacted, and it has started to install a revised pedal in freshly built cars. They are also taking care of the problem in cars that are in route or at delivery hubs.
This recall is not the first for the Cybertruck, despite the fact that it started shipping late last year; the prior one was quite small and included changing the software to change the warning lights' font size. The truck was first unveiled by Tesla in 2019.