Tesla Cybertruck Test Comes To A Grinding Halt. Literally

Edmunds waited four years to get its own Tesla Cybertruck. Then on the day of testing, it broke down.

Tesla Cybertruck breaks down

Photo by: Edmunds

Suvrat Kothari

By: Suvrat Kothari

Aug 16, 2024 at 4:31pm ET

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Car shopping and reviews website Edmunds recently got its Tesla Cybertruck after waiting for four years.
It performed standardized range, performance and efficiency tests on the electric truck, like it does for all other EVs.
But the truck broke down during testing, flashing red warnings on the screen, indicating several system failures.

The Tesla Cybertruck may have ushered in a new era of electric truck design and manufacturing, but when it comes to basic things like reliability, it has plenty of room for improvement.

Car shopping and reviews website Edmunds recently bought a brand new Cybertruck for long term testing. Over the past month, the Cybertruck underwent standardized testing that the outlet performs with every new EV. The Cybertruck wasn't getting any special treatment or extra attention that it otherwise commands on the road.

Before we get to what went wrong, Edmunds conducted some tests where the truck worked as intended. The dual-motor Cybertruck Foundation Series sprinted from a standstill to a 60 miles per hour in 4.0 seconds, about 0.1 seconds quicker than Tesla's estimate. It completed the quarter mile sprint in 12.3 seconds at 110.2 mph—that's plenty quick for a truck that tips the scale at over 6,600 pounds. By comparison, the extended range Ford F-150 Lightning has a curb weight of 6,361 lbs.

Tesla Cybertruck Founders Edition

Source: InsideEVs

In the combined city and highway range test the electric truck covered 334 miles on a single charge, slightly outperforming Tesla's own 318-mile estimate. Driving range may vary from region to region and is influenced by weather, driving style, road conditions and more.

When testing was nearly complete, things went downhill. The Cybertruck's screen flashed red, detecting a "loss of system redundancy." Here's what the message on the screen read: "When out of park, the vehicle may suddenly lose electric power, steering and propulsion and may be unable to apply parking brake. It may be possible to recover the system by performing a vehicle power cycle: Exit the vehicle, close all doors, re-enter the vehicle and attempt to drive..."

The outlet's Senior Reviews Editor Brian Wong followed the on screen instructions, but that didn't help. Aside from blowing hot air on a scorching summer day, the vehicle displayed more warnings, including rear steering failure, low-voltage battery warning and reduced power and speed. After running a "power cycle," it started moving, but only in limp mode at 4 mph. About an hour later, the Cybertruck drove just fine and acted like nothing had happened. Wong drove it back home.

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The earliest service appointment Wong could get was two weeks after the incident occurred (August 20). The service person said these issues could be stemming from one of three sources: the front wiring harness, 48-volt battery or rear steering system. This isn't the first time we've seen a Cybertruck break down. Owners have faced drive unit failures, malfunctioning windshield wipers and several other issues. InsideEVs compiled an entire list of problems owners were facing since deliveries started at the end of last year.

This seems to the recurring theme at Tesla. Even the early production versions of the Model 3 and Model Y faced debilitating quality and reliability issues, but Tesla ironed them out over time. However, when those models were having teething issues, the world was a different place. Tesla wasn't in the position it is in today. Its sales are declining, rivals looks more robust than ever before and CEO Elon Musk's controversies and culture wars are turning some buyers off. If Tesla wants to continue leading America's electrification journey, it needs to fix the Cybertruck first.

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