As more common people and reviewers get their hands on the Cybertruck, an increasing amount of web content regarding Tesla’s electric pickup truck is beginning to surface. While some have criticized the Cybertruck for having a slightly disappointing range and others for having made risky mistakes, Marques Brownlee recently assessed the vehicle on YouTube and concluded that there was insufficient quality control.
In the video, Brownlee talks about the “really big highs and lows” he’s experienced with the Cybertruck over the course of his nearly 1,000 miles (or 1,609 kilometers) with it. However, he starts out by pointing out several disappointing aspects of the vehicle, starting with the driver-side front door. Although Brownlee’s Cybertruck has generally decent fit and finish, it appears that a production fault resulted in a panel gap that the YouTuber refers to as “the worst I’ve ever seen in a production vehicle.”
Brownlee notes in the video that, during his almost 1,000 miles (ca. 1,609 km) with it, there have been “really big highs and lows” when it comes to the Cybertruck, but one of the first disappointing things he points out in the video is the driver-side front door. While fit and finish in Brownlee’s Cybertruck is generally fairly good, by the looks of it, a production error led to a panel gap that the YouTuber calls “the worst I’ve ever seen in a production vehicle.”
It was later discovered by one of Brownlee’s producers, Miles Somerville, that the door striker had come loose — an issue he temporarily fixed with gaffer’s tape, of all things. Elon Musk confirmed that the issue exists on “about 15 Cybertrucks,” in a post on X (formerly Twitter):
Not a “door fit” issue.
About 15 Cybertrucks in service had an issue where the door striker loosened in the field, due to insufficient torque after door fit.
This is takes 5 mins to fix in service and has been addressed in production.
While it’s comforting to know that Tesla has addressed the issue on its production lines, some commenters on Somerville’s X post have argued that a truck that costs in the order of $100,000 should not have issues that require gaffer’s tape to fix, and that Tesla’s QC should have caught this before the 15 affected units were shipped to customers.
Previously, Notebookcheck reported on similar Cybertruck issues. In some instances, users were finding surface rust on their stainless steel body panels, and early Tesla Model 3 owners complained of similar quality control issues relating to panel gaps.
While the issues with the Model 3 were later addressed, with build quality improving in later units, this has not yet been the case with the Cybertruck, and Tesla is targeting similarly high volumes for the Cybertruck to the Model 3’s sales.
I "fixed" our door panel gap. I doubt this is a "5 minute" service job but it shouldn't be too long.
Moral of the story, gaffers tape heals all wounds. https://t.co/dz6Am7H6WN pic.twitter.com/IK3n7VFf33
— Miles Somerville (@SomeOfMiles) March 20, 2024
