Tesla has recalled more than 3,800 of its Cybertruck models following complaints that the accelerator pedal is at risk of getting stuck, US regulators have announced.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had contacted the carmaker, founded and run by Elon Musk, about the issue earlier in the week.
That was after a video came to light, on the billionaire entrepreneur’s X platform and TikTok, showing how a rubber cover attached to the accelerator could come loose, pinning the pedal down.
It has since been watched millions of times on both platforms.
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The interior of a Cybertruck. Pic: Tesla
Tesla was widely reported to have temporarily halted sales and deliveries after being contacted by the NHTSA.
The regulator said a total of 3,878 Cybertrucks were affected by the recall.
Tesla started deliveries of its Cybertruck electric pickup truck late last year, after a two-year delay due to production problems and battery-supply constraints.
The EV maker will replace or repair the accelerator pedal assembly at no charge and owners will be notified through letters mailed to them in June, the NHTSA said.
Cybertruck owner Jose Martinez told Sky’s US partner network NBC News how he was driving his new Cybertruck of just six days on his local drag strip in southern California when the car started accelerating on its own.
He said: “The moment I let go of the brake, it would lurch forward at full throttle again.
“I had space where I could figure out what was going on. It wasn’t a situation where there were cars in front of me or a building or a tree.”
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He later filmed the video which went viral, to demonstrate the issue and said he had performed a temporary fix by simply removing the rubber cover on the pedal.
“Other than this, it’s a pretty solidly built car,” Martinez continued.
“I know saying ‘other than this’ makes it sound like it’s not major, and it is.”
“Because it is such a massive car, and it’s got such a great amount of power, I do feel like things in regard to safety definitely need to be a priority in getting it addressed and fixed,” he added.
