Connect with us

News

Tesla makes it right with suspected lemon Cybertruck owner

Credit: @LamarMK/X

Published

2 years ago

on

A US Army veteran from North Carolina and avid Tesla fan is thanking the electric vehicle maker for making things right after his much-anticipated Tesla Cybertruck ended up being a suspected lemon. It took a lot of effort on the Cybertruck owner’s part before his apparent lemon Cybertruck was replaced, however. 

Tesla enthusiast Lamar MK was among the customers fortunate enough to take delivery of the Cybertruck Foundation Series in March. At the time, the all-electric pickup truck was still a very rare sight on public roads. But over the weeks and months, the US Army veteran and his all-electric pickup truck’s honeymoon turned into something far worse. 

Much to the Tesla owner’s aggravation, his Cybertruck started showing problems. Over the next weeks and months, the Cybertruck would be in and out of the service center. Error codes were one thing, but after the Cybertruck was still not cooperating despite having major parts like its dashboard replaced, the US Army veteran had enough. He wanted Tesla to replace his Cybertruck, which was starting to look more and more like a lemon.

As noted in an autoevolution report, North Carolina law indicates that a consumer who is dissatisfied with their purchase can get a replacement unit or their money back. Tesla reportedly offered to reimburse the US Army veteran, but Lamar MK wanted to get a replacement unit instead. A refund, the Tesla owner noted, would probably mean that he would be moved back to the Cybertruck order queue, and that’s something he would not like to do. 

The US Army veteran’s story was shared widely on social media platform X, and though Tesla CEO Elon Musk did not interact with the EV owner’s posts, Lamar MK recently published a video revealing that Tesla did honor his request and replaced his Cybertruck. The replacement Cybertruck, as per the Tesla owner, seemed better built than his first vehicle. The cabin trim was all lined up, the tonneau was quieter, and there were no obvious panel gaps. Even the A/C was reportedly quieter. 

Tesla would likely closely study the US Army veteran’s first Cybertruck to determine what caused its problems. For now, however, the story at least ends on a partly happy note. The Cybertruck owner received a new truck, and Tesla got some praise from the EV community for making things right for its customers. The only ones unhappy are Tesla critics, who now argue that by replacing the US Army veteran’s pickup truck, Tesla is delaying the delivery of other Cybertruck customers. Fortunately, Giga Texas is pumping out cyber trucks at a rapid pace, so perhaps the delays for other customers won’t be too substantial. 

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

Advertisement
-
-
Related Topics:

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.

Advertisement
Comments

News

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

Published

2 hours ago

on

July 31, 2026

By

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
Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk denies ridiculous Gigafactory Shanghai rumor

Published

3 hours ago

on

July 31, 2026

By

(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.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tesla AI boss reveals how big Optimus is going to get

Tesla’s Optimus chief corrected himself on X, confirming a staggering 10 million robot production target.

Published

11 hours ago

on

July 31, 2026

By

Tesla Optimus Gen 3 [Credit: Tesla]

Tesla’s Optimus program has a new number attached to it, after Ashok Elluswamy, the executive who has run the humanoid robot program since June 2025, posted a three word correction on X Thursday, “Correction, 10 million robots.”

The line clarifies the long term annual capacity Tesla is building toward its planned second Optimus production line at Gigafactory Texas, a figure Musk has cited repeatedly since last year’s shareholder meeting.

The scale is worth noting, because ten million robots a year would mean Tesla building more units annually than most countries sell in new cars. Tesla has framed this as a second line, not the first. The buildout is happening in two phases: a roughly one million unit per year line inside Tesla’s Fremont factory, installed on the floor space vacated when Model S and Model X production ended earlier this year, and a much larger dedicated facility under construction at Giga Texas that broke ground on its first steel structure in May. That Texas facility is the one Elluswamy’s correction refers to, and is expected to reach volume production sometime in 2027.

Tesla Optimus project fires up as Musk sees production line progress

Elluswamy took over Optimus from Milan Kovac last summer and has spent the months since talking up the program’s trajectory. Elon Musk has also floated the ten million figure at Tesla’s 2025 shareholder meeting.

Ending Model S and Model X production to make room for the first Optimus line was one of the more consequential manufacturing decisions in the company’s recent history, retiring two flagship vehicles in favor of a robot that has yet to enter mass production. Musk has previously estimated per unit production costs at $20,000 to $25,000 once Tesla reaches a million units a year, though he hasn’t said what that cost looks like at ten times the volume.

Continue Reading