Despite all the stories of the brakes not working, injuries from exceptionally sharp bodywork, the frunk’s taste for fingers and its vulnerability to a basic car wash, it’s actually been a while since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a formal recall for the Tesla Cybertruck. Two whole months, even. Recently, though, the NHTSA announced two recalls on the same day — one because the windshield wiper might fail and a second because trim pieces on the bed might fly off.
The windshield wiper recall affects 11,688 Cybertrucks built between November 13, 2023, to June 6, 2024. So essentially every Cybertruck ever built, although the number of vehicles that will need a new windshield wiper motor is estimated to be only two percent or just a couple hundred trucks. According to Tesla, the issue appears to have been caused by a supplier using excessive voltage to test one of the components.
As for the bed trim recall, it applies to a slightly smaller group of 11,383 Cybertrucks built between November 13, 2023 and May 26, 2024. According to the recall, a piece of bed trim known as a sail applique may not have been glued to the body correctly, meaning it could fly off while you’re driving. Like the windshield wiper motor, Tesla expects the bed trim issue to only apply to about one percent of all Cybertrucks.
Running the math on the different recall numbers also suggests that Tesla builds between 25 and 30 Cybertrucks a day at a production rate of about 10,000 a year. How much demand there actually is for the Cybertruck remains to be seen, but considering how negative the general public’s reaction has been and how many issues owners have experienced, we wouldn’t be surprised if demand starts to fall off once the early adopters have all gotten theirs. After all, it is the incEl Camino now.