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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

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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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Elon Musk

SpaceX’s Starship just got filmed by its own cargo

SpaceX released new footage of Starship in space captured by the Starlink satellites it deployed.

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SpaceX released a new video Friday evening showing Starship from an angle showcased by its own Starlink satellites, watching the rocket drift away in orbit.

The 65 second clip, posted on X, stitches together footage from four cameras mounted on a single Starlink V3 satellite. It opens with a close view of Starship’s 171 foot upper stage, still catching sunlight, then pulls back as the two spacecraft separate.

The footage comes from Starship’s 13th flight test, which launched July 24 from Starbase after a scrubbed attempt and an abort caused by an engine issue the week before. When Flight 13 finally flew, it carried the first batch of functional Starlink V3 satellites Starship has ever deployed, twenty of them, with six equipped with cameras meant to scan the ship’s heat shield during reentry.

Flight 13 checked most of its boxes. Starship deployed all 20 satellites, relit a Raptor engine in space, and splashed down softly in the Indian Ocean off Western Australia. Musk’s longer term plan calls for a Starlink V3 constellation of 100,000 satellites, according to a recent FCC filing, with Starship as the only vehicle capable of launching them at the volume that requires. Each Starship flight is designed to carry up to 60 V3 satellites once the vehicle reaches routine service, well beyond what Falcon 9 can carry in a single mission.

Starship is next expected to fly with an attempt at catching the ship itself with the launch tower’s mechanical arms, a maneuver SpaceX has so far reserved for the Super Heavy booster.

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Tesla Model Y L’s new features flexed at unveiling event at Diner

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Tesla Model Y L in a field
Credit: Tesla

Tesla flexed the new features of the Model Y L with a dedicated media event at the company’s Diner on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles.

The Model Y L is the extended-wheelbase version of the all-electric crossover, which has been voted the best-selling car in the world on three occasions. The vehicle is already rolling off production lines at Gigafactory Texas, and first deliveries are slated to take place later this year.

Tesla brings Model Y L ‘Launch Series’ to the U.S. at $61,990

Teslarati was invited to the event, but due to some scheduling conflicts, we could not make it to Los Angeles. Instead, we will have our hands on a media unit sometime in August, so we’ll be able to spend some more extended time with the Model Y L.

However, plenty of those who made it to LA shared some cool features that set the Model Y L apart from the Model Y.

Multi-Row Climate Control

Tesla fitted the Model Y L with full climate control on all three rows on the front screen. It can be adjusted by selecting which row you’d like to modify on the right-hand side of the touch screen:

Better Rear Window Visibility

One of the strangest things about the Model Y, especially the Juniper iteration, is the rear window has extremely limited visibility when looking into the rearview mirror.

Tesla has improved upon this with the Model Y L:

PowerShare will be included

Model Y L will come with PowerShare in North America, with an 11.5kW output to your home. Tesla said it would require Powerwall 3 for operation.

Wireless Charging Pad

There has been some speculation that Tesla would upgrade the wireless charging pads in the United States, but this is not the case.

Tesla owner fixes common feature complaint with crafty DIY retrofit

Tesla confirmed that it does not come with the cooled pads as the Y L in China does. This is because North America has not adopted Qi charging yet.

Thermal Management Improvements

These improvements in the Model Y L were seen with thermal management:

  • Up to 15% faster cabin cooling
  • +23% thermal efficiency gained in hot weather, 7 miles of real-world range gained
  • 8x more solar energy reflection off of glass roof
  • 30% reduction in solar energy entering the cabin

Demand

Tesla said the Model Y L is almost sold out in the U.S. It comes with

  • 1 year of FSD Supervised
  • 1 year of Supercharging
  • 1 year of Premium Connectivity
  • Free exterior paint color, interior, and wheel option at no additional cost
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk denies ridiculous Gigafactory Shanghai rumor

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to his social media platform X on Thursday night to deny a ridiculous rumor regarding the sale of the company’s Chinese vehicle production plant, Gigafactory Shanghai.

On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter, claimed in a scathing new report that Tesla was exploring a potential sale of the entire China business in an effort to help bolster a potential merger between SpaceX and Tesla.

Musk immediately denied the rumor not once but twice, initially calling it “fake news,” and then calling it “absurdly fake news” in a separate post just a few moments later:

The original poster of the Wall Street Journal article that Musk saw deleted the initial post sharing the headline and the rumored sale of Tesla’s China business.

The report seemed absolutely and unequivocally false to begin with; Tesla’s business in China is among the most important pieces of the company’s business. Not only does the factory supply vehicles for the domestic market, but also for various other markets in Asia and Europe.

China is also one of the largest automotive markets in the world, and Tesla has performed well there despite the robust competition.

The speculation regarding a Tesla and SpaceX merger has started to gain steam this year as the space exploration company went public just a month ago. There has been speculation that Musk will bridge all of his companies under one “umbrella company,” and analysts believe this could happen before the end of the decade.

The Tesla and SpaceX merger everyone is talking about is quietly building

This is the latest iteration of Musk’s very evident war on mainstream media. Reports regarding any of Musk’s companies are quick to get the dreaded “false” or “fake news” response from the CEO when they are unfounded.

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