21-04-2025
Tesla Cybertruck Suffers Boycotts, Recalls, Vandalism And Now Rust?
Tesla's Cybertrucks are in the news, or should we say, in the wars, for a whole number of reasons. Sales started to plummet globally and potential buyers started to boycott the trucks mainly in response to Elon Musk's tampering with US government agencies.
Across its entire lineup, Tesla reported that it delivered 336,681 units worldwide in the January–March quarter compared to sales of 387,000 over the same period last year.
The brand suffered multiple cases of vandalism across the country and around the world with many owners trying to avoid such treatment by disguising their vehicles by attaching the emblems of rival carmakers.
We heard earlier this month that the carmaker had issued a recall of all of its 46,000 or so Cybertrucks after body panels started delaminating due to inferior glue. Yes, the glue they used wasn't sticky enough. Then, we heard last week that Tesla itself was even boycotting the Cybertruck. From just over a week ago, apart from the thousands of truck inventory left ignored in Tesla lots, the brand is no longer accepting its high profile trucks as trade-ins, simply because it has no value to them anymore. The brand has also recently halted sales of some models of the truck as it cannot keep up with repairs.
And to add insult to injury, now a new story has surfaced on Cybertruck Owners Club showing the Cybertrucks—constructed out of stainless steel—rusting excessively in harsh cold climates. After just one year in harsh cold climates like the Colorado winter where the authorities use sodium chloride or road salts to help keep streets clear, many trucks end up covered in rust
Removing even a handful of these rusted spots from the truck requires significant effort, so some owners have resorted to spray painting the car or attaching a cool body wrap to cover the exterior and try to protect the stainless steel. But according to Cyberpunks Facebook site, even this treatment does not work as it leaves hefty stains on the surface.
So if you live in a cold place that uses corrosive materials like sodium chloride (salt) to treat snow, then no amount of software updates or wrapping will help you.
But even if you did spend hours buffing out the rust, the same phenomenon would just happen next winter requiring the same treatment all over again.
We have a feeling that the Cybertruck, which finally arrived on the scene in late 2023 as a promising challenge to the accepted norm, will go down in history as one of the biggest flops in the auto industry.
