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Tesla Cybertruck accelerator pedal issue listed as NHTSA recall for unintended acceleration

Credit: Tesla

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The Tesla Cybertruck’s acceleration pedal issue, which caused a temporary halt in the customer deliveries of the all-electric pickup truck, has been listed as a recall by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). As per the NHTSA’s official website, the recall was initiated to address risks for unintended acceleration from a trapped accelerator pedal on affected vehicles. 

The NHTSA’s Safety Recall Report revealed that a total of 3,878 units of the 2024 Tesla Cybertruck are affected by the accelerator pedal issue. Affected vehicles were produced from November 13, 2023 to April 4, 2024. Similar to observations from Tesla Cybertruck owners, the NHTSA Safety Recall Report noted that the accelerator pedal might get dislodged and trapped in the interior trim when high force is applied to the pad. 

The Tesla Cybertruck’s accelerator pedal issue is described as follows in the NHTSA Safety Recall Report: 

“If the pad on the accelerator pedal becomes trapped in the interior trim above the pedal, the performance and operation of the pedal will be affected, which may increase the risk of a collision. Note that application of the brake pedal will cut drive torque, including when both brake and accelerator pedals are pressed, and continued application of the brake pedal will bring the vehicle to a stop as quickly as if the accelerator pedal was not pressed,” the report read. 

Aș per the NHTSA’s report, the cause of the Cybertruck’s accelerator pedal issue was an unapproved change that introduced a lubricant, soap, to aid in the component assembly of the pad onto the accelerator pedal. Residual lubricant ended up reducing the retention of the pad to the pedal. 

The Safety Recall Report’s chronology section showed Tesla’s quick response to the issue. As per the document, Tesla was initially made aware of the accelerator pedal issue on March 31, 2024, through a customer claim. On April 2, Tesla Engineering reviewed the vehicle’s data logs, which confirmed that the driver did press the brakes and accelerator at the same time to bring the affected Cybertruck to a stop. 

Another customer claim was received by Tesla on April 3, and through the week of April 8, Tesla Engineering conducted additional tests to determine the scope and behavior of the issue. A decision to recall the affected Cybertrucks was made on April 12, 2024. No crashes or accidents are believed to have been caused by the issue as of April 15, 2024.  

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Unlike most Tesla recalls, the Cybertruck’s accelerator pedal issue is hardware related. Thus, it would not be fixed through an over-the-air software update. To address the issue, Tesla will be replacing the faulty accelerator pedal assembly in affected Cybertrucks with a setup that meets specifications. All Cybertrucks produced from April 17, 2024 are already equipped with a new accelerator pedal component, and units that are at delivery centers or in transit will receive the remedy prior to their customer handovers.

Recent posts on social media and Elon Musk’s comments have suggested that Cybertruck deliveries have resumed. As per Musk, the temporary halt in Cybertruck deliveries was also done over an abundance of caution. “There were no injuries or accidents because of this. We are just being very cautious,” Musk wrote in a post on X.

The NHTSA’s Safety Recall Report on the Cybertruck’s accelerator pedal issue can be viewed below. 

RCLRPT-24V276-7026 by Simon Alvarez on Scribd

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla launches V2L Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y in the U.S.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has launched a new Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y vehicles in the United States, meaning you can now power devices like laptops or light strings with your vehicle’s battery.

It appears the capability will be available for any Model Y Premium trim, including those that were purchased prior to the Adapter being launched. It will also only impact Juniper Model Y vehicles, so the first-gen owners will unfortunately not have access to this capability.

If your Model Y was purchased before Tesla renamed the trim levels to “Premium” and “Standard,” it does not seem to be compatible. My Model Y is technically a Premium build, as it is the Long Range All-Wheel-Drive. However, Tesla says it is not compatible with my vehicle.

For $80, you can now utilize your car as a portable charger for small appliances or devices. This is perfect for things like tailgates, concerts, or camping, as you can now plug in devices that you might use. Those string lights for camping? That laptop for the other games that are on at the tailgate?

They’ll both utilize energy from your Tesla’s battery to be powered. This is the first time Tesla has expanded the capability to vehicles outside of the Model Y Performance and Cybertruck. However, this feature has been highly requested by owners for an extended period of time.

Tesla launched the Outlet Adapter in China last year:

Tesla China rolls out Model Y L V2L adapter, and it’s free for early owners

You will need the Mobile Connector to operate the Outlet Adapter: the Outlet Adapter will plug into the main housing of the Mobile Connector, where the appropriate adapter to charge your vehicle will plug in.

It is rated for 120 volts and 20 amps, and has a max power rating of 2.4kW.

You can buy it here from Tesla for $80.

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Tesla Roadster unveiling nears, and it will fly: The Information

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(Credit: Dami Kolz/Twitter)

Tesla is nearing its long-awaited unveiling of the all-electric Tesla Roadster, a new report from The Information claims, as the company has said several times this year that the event would take place “soon.”

Now, it appears there is movement on Tesla’s end regarding when it will happen.

The report says that Tesla will unveil the Roadster as soon as this month with a SpaceX version that will utilize cold-gas thrusters to help the vehicle float for a short period of time. This is something CEO Elon Musk has talked about with the Roadster for years.

Additionally, due to the delays, Tesla explored “a variety of designs” for the Roadster, potentially planning to abandon the design it showed off for the first time in 2017 and adopting an entirely new aesthetic.

According to The Information, Tesla considered utilizing a repurposed Model S Plaid and even wanted to upgrade the look to something like a Lamborghini Countach.

Elon Musk teases Tesla Roadster unveiling once again

We’ve heard all of these things before, including teases about the date and how “soon” the Roadster will finally be ready to be shown off to the world (for the second time). Musk said that the event would occur in April, then May, then Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen continued to say it would be coming “soon.”

We do expect to see the Roadster by the end of the year, and now with this new report swirling, it appears it could be sooner rather than later.

The wait has been incredibly long, but there is likely a good reason for it. Tesla’s desire to make the Roadster the craziest vehicle on the road was non-negotiable, and it likely took a lot of time and resources to develop and perfect into something that was safe and suitable for a vehicle like this.

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Tesla finally got its Nevada Robotaxi Permit but with a few catches hard to miss

Nevada granted Tesla’s robotaxi permit, but capped the fleet at just ten vehicles for now.

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Concept art of a Tesla Cybercab in Las Vegas Strip as rendered via Grok

Tesla has received its robotaxi permit in Nevada, more than two months after regulators closed the public comment period on the company’s application. News of the approval surfaced Wednesday night when Tesla investor and longtime company watcher Sawyer Merritt posted a copy of the interim order, and the Nevada Transportation Authority’s own carrier registry now lists the permit, AVNC Permit 002 under Docket 26-05015, as active for Tesla Robotaxi, LLC.

Tesla asked Nevada in June for authority to run up to 5,000 vehicles in Clark County within a year, however the permit the NTA issued is initially capping Tesla at ten fully autonomous vehicles and confines them to a defined geofence along the Las Vegas Strip corridor. Any expansion of that operating area, or any increase to the fleet size, requires the NTA’s approval first.

The order also sets rules that look more restrictive than what Tesla runs in Austin. Rides are barred on roads with posted speed limits above 45 miles per hour, pickups are off limits within a quarter mile of Harry Reid International Airport without separate authorization, and every vehicle has to carry visible “Robotaxi” markings while notifying riders before each trip that no one is driving. The order also requires “appropriate human supervision”, language that suggests Nevada isn’t ready to let Tesla offer the rides without a safety monitor that it has run in parts of Austin since January. As with standard protocol with robotaxi services, Tesla must report any accident, system failure, or vehicle that becomes stranded on a Nevada road within five business days.

Tesla is entering a market Nevada already knows well. Zoox, the Amazon owned robotaxi company, has run its own autonomous vehicle permit in the state since last year, building up to roughly 100 vehicles and 350,000 rides along the Strip. That history likely explains why the NTA started Tesla at ten cars rather than the fleet size the company asked for. The agency has a template for scaling a permit up once a company proves out its safety record.

Tesla’s Nevada application first surfaced in June, when the company filed for the permit alongside plans for a maintenance hub in southwest Las Vegas. The company has said it won’t meaningfully scale its robotaxi fleet anywhere until FSD v15 ships, expected in late 2026 or early 2027, which makes the ten vehicle cap less of a constraint today than it might look on paper. For now, Tesla has the legal right to start Nevada rides. Whether it starts before FSD v15 arrives is a separate question the permit doesn’t answer.

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