Tesla Cybertruck Visits an Independent Mechanic, the EV's Owner Is Not Happy

I can vividly remember the excited faces of those lucky first few owners who took delivery of a Cybertruck at the official launch event. It's possible that some of them aren't as ecstatic now. The bullet-resistant wannabe edgy workhorse with rock-proof windows that helped the world's most valuable automaker debut a bunch of new technologies isn't helping Tesla improve its reputation. To put it mildly, it isn't a stellar ride.

A YouTuber who buys project cars, fixes them, and then tries to flip some of those units for a profit or to make room for new additions bought a 600-hp Cybertruck for which he paid a six-figure sum. Since he shares his passion for all types of cars with over 1.5 million people on the video-sharing website, the man wanted to show everyone just how well-built the pickup truck is. So, he took it to an automotive repair shop based in Kansas.

The mechanic he chose is also a YouTuber who is known for having a very candid approach when it comes to telling prospective customers what must be fixed and what may need repairing in the future without charging car owners for unneeded repairs.

As soon as the shop owner takes a look inside the frunk, he discovers the first problem: an improperly threaded bolt. While that's an easy fix, the fact that there's water ingress behind the frunk cover isn't. The Gigawiper may be cool, but the absence of a gutter and drainage pipe could make anyone wonder if the Cybertruck was well thought-out from the get-go or just a rushed project.

By the looks of it, the windshield cowl is not protecting the pickup truck's internals, which may happen because the seal (weatherstrip) doesn't fit properly or isn't secured correctly. The blue windshield washer fluid ends up staining the soundproofing material.

Tesla Service says this isn't a worry, though. Another Cybertruck owner asked about the issue, and the answer was that such leaks "shouldn't cause any damage." It does sound like not even the brand's technicians know what's A-OK and what's not, but nobody can blame them for not giving a definitive answer. This EV is still rather new, and there aren't that many out there. Since Tesla isn't very fond of doing too much testing and personnel training, various errors are more likely to be fixed as owners discover what the QA people should've addressed.

The mechanic moves on and tries to take the big cabin air filter out of its housing, but two plastic clips fail immediately. Still, he thinks it would be easier to work on the Cybertruck than on the Ford F-150 Lightning. So, there's that.

One thing that's worth noting is the absence of major welding points, which is an advantage provided by gigacasting. As time goes by and the pickup truck is put to work, those E-coated large steel sections of the vehicle that have been die-casted might require repair. That's not going to be cheap. Customers could realize that the  Cybertruck isn't as tough as advertised when it comes to dealing with something else other than steel balls and bullets. Replacing the front end isn't ideal, to say the least.

All in all, this quick check reinforces the idea that Tesla didn't want to wait any longer to launch the Cybertruck. It could have spent more time eliminating any potential shortcomings and giving its customers a truly incredible EV. But it didn't, and the thing we're left with is sort of a testbed for future technologies that may work as intended on Cybertruck 2 or the upcoming Model S or Model X.

Sadly, over-the-air software updates will not fix issues such as those found in the video below.