Tesla recalls thousands of Cybertrucks after 'soap' caused accelerator pedals to jam

More then 3,800 Cybertrucks have had to be recalled due to an accelerator jamming issue. Credit: AP

Tesla has recalled almost 4,000 of its newly released Cybertrucks due to a jamming issue with the accelerator pedal, US regulators have announced.

The cause, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is soap.

“An unapproved change introduced lubricant (soap) to aid in the component assembly of the pad onto the accelerator pedal. Residual lubricant reduced the retention of the pad to the pedal,” the NHTSA wrote in the recall document.

The announcement came after a video was posted to billionaire Tesla owner Elon Musk's X platform, showing the rubber cover attached to the pedal coming loose and pinning down the accelerator.

The video was also posted to TikTok and has since been viewed millions of times.

Tesla has yet to announce how many of its futuristic looking Cybertrucks it has produced, but the NHTSA has confirmed that at least 3,878 trucks, likely all the trucks on US roads, will need to be recalled.

Documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say that “when high force is applied to the pad on the accelerator pedal, the pad may dislodge, which may cause the pedal to become trapped in the interior trim above the pedal.”

The safety regulator said workers assembling the trucks at Tesla’s factory in Texas, improperly used soap to aid in the component assembly of the pad onto the accelerator pedal.

Tesla started deliveries of its electric pickup truck at the end of last year, after a two-year delay in production due to battery supply issues.

The trucks long awaited release has been marred by other issues including a $20,000 hike to the original price-tag announced in 2019.

Telsa did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ITV News' US partner CNN.

The company this month told employees it would lay off roughly 10% of its global workforce.

Unlike other Tesla recalls, this one cannot be fixed with a software update, instead owners will have to respond to letters and bring their Cybertrucks to service centres at no charge.

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