The Cybertruck 'glitch' that nearly cost a life: Owner of new EV claims brakes ... trends now
Cybertruck issues seem to be flooding the web, from misaligned panels to poor mileage — but a malfunction in California could have been deadly.
A Tesla customer claimed the EV's brakes malfunctioned just weeks after purchase, sending the vehicle crashing into the pole of a road sign.
Images of the incident showed the shiny steel front end smashed, the side panel hanging off and the hood bent on the side of the impact.
The driver said they attempted to slow the Cybertruck by pressing the brakes, only to find they did not engage - and noted the air bags also did not deploy when the EV collided with the pole.
The stainless steel hood was bent and buckled by the reported crash, which occurred mid-corner, according to the driver
The Cybertruck owner posted photos of the damage to the car after the crash. A broken bumper cover can be seen here
In a post on the Cyber Truck Owners Club forum, the driver explained that they were mid-corner when they lifted their foot off the accelerator - but the truck did not slow down.
These problems tend to center around the regenerative braking system, which is designed to automatically brake once a driver takes their foot off the accelerator - generating electricity from the car's inertial motion in the process.
It's not clear what went wrong with the recently crashed Cybertruck, but its owner reported that it is in the hands of Tesla technicians who should be able to provide some answers.
He also reported that he has asked for the electronic logs.
So far the post has garnered 12 pages of replies on the message board.
The driver wrote: 'Guys I had my Truck for less than 350 miles. Something happened I can't explain... I was driving like usual and when coming into a turn releasing the accelerator but the speed wasn't reducing... so I pressed the brake... but it didn't engage.... until it was too late and I hit a signal light pole, also airbags didn't deploy.'
According to the driver's replies to questions, they had only been driving the truck for five days, and the issue happened suddenly and abruptly.
No other issues had shown themselves before the crash.
Some commenters suggested that the issue may have involved the Tesla regenerative braking.
The driver confirmed that the regenerative braking did not feel like it was working at 100 percent:
'Regen was working but it was limited it was different than before ( I’m doing a bad job of explaining), hence the application of brakes which also had a delayed feeling,' they wrote.
The Cybertruck owner reported being sore but otherwise uninjured, and said, 'Still love the truck though.'
DailyMail.com has reached out to Tesla for comment.
Problems with the regenerative braking have dogged Tesla, but the company ignored them when they were brought up back in 2021.
The issue led to 1.1 million Teslas being recalled in China in 2023, after multiple high-profile incidents where cars ran out of control.
Critics charged that software guiding the automated deployment of regenerative braking can conflict with a driver's own
