Tesla's Cybertruck disaster: Insider reveals 'serious safety issues' behind ... trends now
Customer reports that Tesla has halted deliveries for its futuristic Cybertruck amid allegedly dangerous safety issues with its gas pedal come as no surprise to one former insider.
Engineer Cristina Balan told DailyMail.com that the gas and brake pedal safety issues she witnessed a decade ago with Tesla's Model S, which led to her coming forward as a whistleblower, are now likely happening again with Cybertruck.
'After I left, it got worse,' said Balan, who is suing her former boss Elon Musk's electric car company for defamation.
'I have quite a few people that are right now in Tesla,' Balan said. 'They brought some serious safety issues to my attention.'
New Cybertruck owners have described its gas pedal as a 'deathtrap,' demonstrating how the pedal cover can slide off the accelerator and become snagged on the carpet, locking it in place and spurring the car to accelerate at top speed.
Balan's disclosures come as new citizen drone footage shows full fleets of unfinished Cybertruck's backed up over parts concerns — as well as Musk's announcement that as many as 14,000 Tesla workers will be laid off due allegedly to flagging EV sales.
Customer reports that Tesla has halted deliveries for its futuristic Cybertruck amid dangerous safety issues with its gas pedal come as no surprise to ex-Tesla automotive engineer and and auto safety whistleblower Cristina Balan. 'After I left, it got worse,' Balan told DailyMail.com
With new drone videos emerging showing full fleets of unfinished Cybertruck's backed up over parts concerns, Balan told DailyMail.com that Tesla engineers, just like she once was, may be struggling to get leadership to take safety seriously
Balan, who joined Tesla's Fremont, California, factory in 2010 as a senior computer-aided design (CAD) engineer, is now battling Tesla in court over what she describes as retaliation for her efforts to correct a dangerous issue with the Tesla Model S.
Poorly made floor mats, according to Balan, showed a tendency to curl underneath the all-electric Tesla sedan's brake pedals preventing drivers from slowing down their vehicles, not unlike the recent issue that jams Cybertruck pedals into full speed.
'They said that they will try to deal with it,' Balan told DailyMail.com, referring to current Tesla employees and potential future whistleblowers who have reached out.
But she worries that her own lengthy and now very public legal battle with Tesla, with lawsuits over both wrongful termination and defamation over the years, might be scaring other Tesla employees away from coming forward on Cybertruck.
Above, Cristina signing the first cover of the Tesla Model S, back when she worked at the EV-maker's Fremont, California factory
Some customers have received text messages from the company saying it is replacing the acceleration pedal and is waiting for parts to come in
'People, good engineers, they are afraid to say something is wrong,' Balan said, 'because they know that they will go on the same track I was.'
While there has been no official announcement from Tesla, several customers have posted text messages they have received from the company cancelling their Cybertruck 'delivery appointment' due to an unexplained and 'unexpected delay' regarding the preparation of their vehicle.
Tesla cited an unspecified parts issue, according to these texts to customers, which could relate to Cybertruck's accelerator pedal covers.
'It appears they need at least until April 20th to correct the issue, but it could be potentially longer than that,' a Tesla representative texted one customer, Max Pyko of Birmingham, Alabama.
'Tesla is working on getting improved parts to all affected locations asap,' the company's text message continued.
New drone footage, obtained by DailyMail.com, shows rapid efforts to expand Tesla's Giga factory outside Austin, Texas — as an estimated 600 Cybertrucks sit idle to the west and east sides of Texas State Highway 130.
The Cybertruck had been rushed into production at Tesla's Texas Giga factory, as attorneys for construction workers have alleged in recent years, despite on-site safety hazards and an incomplete construction of the facility itself.
And at least one Cybertruck customer in California has recently come forward claiming that the EV's brakes malfunctioned just weeks after purchase, sending their vehicle crashing into the pole of a road sign.
In a post on the Cyber Truck Owners Club forum, the driver said they attempted to slow the Cybertruck by pressing the brakes, only to find they
