If nothing postpones its official deliveries, we should see the first owners of the Tesla Cybertruck present themselves on November 30. Despite that, the electric pickup truck is showing off so often that we already know many of its flaws. For a vehicle that took much more time to be developed than Tesla promised it would need, some of them are really hard to understand. Theoretically, the battery electric vehicle (BEV) had enough time to solve them. In practice, it didn't.
Several examples of things that may make owning a Cybertruck a patience exercise have shown up to me in just a few days. They join some other problems that appeared much earlier, but were confirmed by more recent prototypes. These flaws relate to visibility, ergonomy, reliability, and also to expectations.
The first thing that came to my attention was the ridiculously large windshield wiper. The prototype didn't present it, which suggested the company would adopt an innovative approach to it. The company even patented a magnetic windshield wiper that seemed like the perfect fit for the vehicle. Instead, Tesla applied a conventional and massive component that sits upward close to the A-pillar. It should create a relevant blind spot there.
To make matters worse when it comes to visibility, internal images of the electric pickup truck show how thick these pillars are. Although that is also the case with the B- and C-pillars, the A-pillars are the ones that will make drivers curse whoever thought they were a good idea. The square steering wheel also promises to cause profuse swearing, maybe as much as the yoke has.
Photo: Tesla CyberTruck via Facebook
The Drive detailed another bizarre feature of the Cybertruck. Based on a post – ironically shared on Elon Musk's social media – the website showed how confusing the brake lights are in the electric pickup truck.
In the video, one of the prototypes approaches a traffic light while its turn signal indicates its driver wants to go left. We can also see a thin red light bar covering the entire upper part of the tailgate. When the driver hits the brakes, the light bar turns off, and a smaller and central one activates. It works like a third brake light, but it does not look much brighter than the light bar that is turned on most of the time. At each edge of the Cybertruck's bed walls, two light squares should fire up. As the turn signal is blinking to the left, only the light square on the right shines.
Watch the video below as many times as you want, and you'll reach the same conclusion James Gilboy registered in his story: the Cybertruck's brake lights do not seem to fulfill their role. Instead of warning that the truck will slow down, you need to interpret what they are trying to say. As the light bar was turned on before that, you could have the impression that the driver was stepping on the brake pedal and suddenly released it when they were actually starting to step on it.
Photo: via omg-Tesla/Rivian
Although the situation portrayed in the video would make you quickly realize the correct sequence – because the vehicle was getting close to a red traffic light – it could not be that evident in any other situation. Imagine a surprise on the road and drivers who have just seen the Cybertruck for the first time. It is clearly a bad design, one that may even fail to comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for brake lights.
Pedestrian safety should also be a challenge for the Cybertruck. Tesla has yet to disclose how this vehicle should fare in crash tests. The thick stainless steel panels that Elon Musk irresponsibly promotes as bulletproof – they are not – should make absorbing the crash energy quite a challenge. If the pickup truck body does not do that job, those of the occupants or other road users will. Until the BEV maker proves that it is not a problem, it will remain a concern.
Tesla's design also made the frunk much smaller than it is on the Rivian R1T or the Ford F-150 Lightning. I would also be concerned with water ingress in that compartment, something that the BEV maker has failed to ensure even in its more conventional vehicles.
Photo: @john12782 via Twitter
The Cybertruck has no door handles. They open thanks to buttons on the bottom of the B- and C-pillars. Apparently, that makes an actuator push the door out of the body so that the driver and passengers can pull it open by the edges. Anyone aware of the 12V issues current Tesla vehicles face will wonder if that is a good idea. The whole operation also seems to be ergonomically deficient, as presented in some videos. The mechanical emergency release inside the Cybertruck's cabin is something owners should learn before anything else.
Another issue relates to the dropping roof line after the B-pillars, which suggests there is little headroom for the rear seat passengers. We'll only be sure about that when the first customers put their hands on the electric pickup truck, but it seems only children and people who are not tall will be comfortable in the second row of seats.
Add to the list the weird noise the tonneau cover makes when it is retracted. You can see them thanks to a video shared at the Cybetruck Owners Club. At the very least, it seems to need oil. The bed looks much smaller than it should be, with thicker walls at the bottom than they are in their upper parts. It must have something to do with the steering rear wheels, which need room to move inside the rear wheel wells.
Photo: via Dima Zeniuk
Ironically, someone showed on November 2 that the Cybertruck has a cargo space under the bed. On most electric pickup trucks that offer this trunk, it presents enough space for a spare tire, which is clearly not the case with Tesla's vehicle. It seems Tesla just had some room there, and engineers decided to turn it into a storage compartment, not that it was designed to have it.
Two of the Cybertruck's flaws are not new to my readers. The first is the fact that it was supposed to be a stressed-skin vehicle, which justified the stainless steel to form a strong exoskeleton. Tesla did not manage to deliver that, creating a unibody pickup truck instead. That made production costs blow the roof, allegedly causing the tri-motor derivative to cost $98,990. When the project was presented in November 2019 – four years ago – this trim was supposed to cost $69,990. The entry-level derivative was supposed to cost $39,900, but even the most passionate Tesla fans are prepared to hear that it will only be delivered years from now – if ever. The price should also be higher. If the tri-motor version price can work as a parameter, the Cybertruck should start at $68,900.
That's the main deal breaker the electric pickup truck will have right off the bat, but the flaws pointed out in this story may also make a good chunk of the people who reserved a Cybertruck give up on the deal. If you consider I have created this list without even having official information on the vehicle, expect deliveries to introduce even more concern points. The Tesla Files disclosed the prototypes had "suspension, body sealing, noise levels, handling, and braking" problems. We have also seen several prototypes broken down and being towed. In other words, this list may be just the beginning.
Interesting that they don’t put another 3rd brake light on top of the rear glass like they did with the Baja light bar in front. Imagine if the tailgate was down, you’ll only see the two side, honestly don’t know if that’s enough light especially if it’s a foggy night pic.twitter.com/7ga77rwcls
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