After multiple delays, the Tesla Cybertruck finally hit production last year. Initially, it seemed like only Tesla employees and a chosen few privileged buyers had a golden ticket to the delivery list. But now, a non-employee has a Cybertruck and is sharing his firsthand experience. And let’s just say that there are pretty glaring quality issues, especially for a vehicle in the $100,000 price range.
In general, the Cybertruck has appeared to be a bit of a letdown on paper. It doesn’t have the initially quoted range, it’s only available in very limited configurations, and it’s considerably more expensive than promised. Despite that, a deeper dive into its tech reveals a very intriguing electric pickup truck. That’s where this real-world non-Tesla-employee perspective comes into play.
More: Tesla Cybertruck’s Range Falls 21% Short Of EPA Estimate In Real World Test
Photos CybertruckOwnersClub u/susu2142
Over on the CybertruckOwnersClub forum, user Susu2142 writes: “Overall Build Quality: A- for a Tesla, a few misaligned panels if you look closely, the right turn signal control is a little glitchy.” It turns out that both of those issues are worth a deeper look themselves. First, the body panel that is most noticeably odd is where the rear end of the bed meets the tonneau cover.
There’s a noticeable gap that begins near the cab and grows toward the rear of the truck. That said, the viewing angle in the first photo above appears to exaggerate the issue. Other photos of the same panels, but from other angles don’t appear to demonstrate the egregious misalignment that the first one shows. Nevertheless, one picture with a ruler in view shows approximately an eighth of an inch gap between the two pieces.
That’s something you’d expect to be caught in the pre-delivery inspection, and it raises concerns about the overall build quality of the Cybertruck.
It’s unclear if this truck is the only one with the issue or if others might be out there with the same problem. Robots are heavily involved in the production of the Cybertruck so it’s plausible that this might not be a one-off situation.
That being said, the owner says that it’s actually the turn signal actuator that is a much more glaring issue. Evidently “30% of the time it doesn’t work.” Susu2142 says that he’ll address the turn signal problem with Tesla but hasn’t said if he’ll bring up the body panel issue. It’s not all bad either. He reports being “blown away” by the steering, that the acceleration is “more than enough”, and that the attention he’s getting is “too much.”
