Summary

Tesla has been quietly replacing battery packs in Cybertrucks due to issues with “side-dented cells” causing potential battery core collapse.

Reports date back to September 2024, with owners learning of battery replacements during unrelated service visits.

Tesla describes the replacements as proactive but has not issued an official recall, raising questions about transparency and regulatory compliance.

Critics suggest Tesla’s approach avoids negative press and high costs.

Concerns persist about the scope of the issue, potential safety risks, and Tesla’s lack of formal communication with owners or regulatory bodies.

    • glimse@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      56
      ·
      3 days ago

      Only a few weeks of stalling to go until they can definitively announce that there are no problems with cybertrucks, the patriotic car exploded due to terrorism, and BYD was the responsible party so EV tariffs are getting doubled.

      • FaceDeer@fedia.io
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        17
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        2 days ago

        It’s already well known that the Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas was loaded with fireworks and cans of camp fuel. Whether it was “terrorism” or not is still an open question (and it’s such a wildly overused term these days that it’ll likely be a useless answer) but I think blaming it on the battery is likely jumping to a poor conclusion.

        • WoodScientist@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          6
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          2 days ago

          I say we’re not jumping to conclusions enough!

          <tinfoil hat>

          Maybe it was a false flag attack, one planned and executed by Musk himself! He contacts one of his most ardent fanboys on X. He tells him that he’s arranging a get together for some of his greatest fans in Las Vegas. He says to load your cybertruck up with as many fireworks and gas cans as you can. From there everyone will drive out to the desert, hold a huge bonfire, and set off fireworks. And they will all meet up at the front door of Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. Musk waits til the mark does this. Once the car’s GPS indicates it is in position, Musk simply activates the secret remote self destruct he’s built into every cybertruck. It turns out, every one of those is a bomb that Musk can set off at any time through a simple web interface. He just clicks a button, an overload is triggered in the batteries, and the whole thing goes up in flames. The fireworks and gasoline just serve to multiply the blast, provide an explanation for the explosion, and to kill the only witness to Musk’s plot.

          It turns out he wasn’t a terrorist! He was an innocent fool who thought Musk invited to a party. Musk is basically Lex Luthor at this point. Would you really put something like this past him? It’s not like he hasn’t integrated secret features into cars before. Why not a remote self destruct that can only be activated at the sole discretion of Musk himself?

          </tinfoil hat>

        • glimse@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          2 days ago

          I think it was deliberate, too, but Trump needs those sweet points with his base for doing something about it and musk wants to limit EV competition so he’ll delay

          • FaceDeer@fedia.io
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            2 days ago

            Right, and people who hate Trump also need those sweet points with their base and so they’ll accuse Trump of delaying even though Trump isn’t president yet. And won’t be in charge of everyone investigating this even when he is, Nevada’s senate and house are both Democrat-controlled and I’m sure there’s some state-level investigation going on here.

            It’s going to be a long four years, let’s try not to make literally everything a pro-Trump or anti-Trump talking point. There are actual facts that can be talked about instead.

            • glimse@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              2 days ago

              Elon will be the one stalling in my theory, not Trump. He doesn’t like being investigated very much

    • floofloof@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      17
      ·
      3 days ago

      It seems that fire was a deliberate explosion - the rare Tesla fire that’s not started by the Tesla.

      • evatronic@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        14
        ·
        2 days ago

        I do appreciate how we heard a cybertruck exploded and caught fire and most people were like “yup, that happens.”

        • FaceDeer@fedia.io
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          8
          arrow-down
          4
          ·
          2 days ago

          People going “yup, that confirms my existing preconceptions” doesn’t say much. Regular cars catch fire too, it just doesn’t make headlines every time one of them does.

    • troed@fedia.io
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      11
      ·
      3 days ago

      How do you prevent someone making a bomb out of gas cans and pyrotechnics by replacing batteries … ? Those weren’t even affected by the explosion/fire.

    • takeda@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      2 days ago

      As musk commented, you don’t have to worry about those fires as cyber truck will direct them upwards.

    • FaceDeer@fedia.io
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      5
      ·
      2 days ago

      There has been a steady stream of “Cybertruck sucks!” Articles and comments being posted since Cybertruck was revealed, so it’s actually not all that interesting IMO. Blow up a Cybertruck at any time and there’ll likely be some other “Cybertruck sucks!” Thing going on at the simultaneously.

      Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis have had electric car recalls over the past couple of years too, I haven’t seen a peep about those.