Tesla agreed to recall nearly 4,000 of its Cybertruck pickup trucks to repair an accelerator pedal that can stick, increasing the risk of crashes, a federal safety agency said Friday.
The defect could cause the vehicle to accelerate unintentionally, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. he said in a notice posted on his website. Tesla began selling the Cybertruck, its first pickup truck, in November after many delays.
The recall is another setback for Tesla, the largest electric vehicle maker in the United States. The company has been losing market share to emerging competitors and reported this month that its sales in the first three months of the year fell from the same period a year earlier, the first time that has happened since the start of the pandemic.
Tesla's recent troubles have unnerved investors and the company's shares have fallen about 40 percent so far this year.
The federal safety agency said all 3,878 Cybertrucks on U.S. roads produced between Nov. 13 and April 4 have the defect, which it said was caused by the use of soap as a lubricant during assembly at Tesla's factory in Austin, Texas. Residual soap “reduced pad-to-pedal retention,” the agency said.
Tesla first received a customer complaint on March 31 and by April 12 had completed its evaluation and voluntarily recalled the affected vehicles, according to the notice.
The agency said Tesla was not aware that the defect had caused accidents, injuries or deaths. Some Cybertruck owners have posted videos and photos on social media in recent days describing the defect and saying they were able to stop the vehicle by pressing the brake pedal.
Tesla will replace or repair the accelerator pedal on Cybertrucks for free, the safety agency said.
The company has faced several recalls in the past year. In February, it recalled more than two million vehicles because the font size on the warning light panel was too small. In December, the company recalled more than two million vehicles to change its Autopilot software to provide more prominent alerts that remind drivers to keep their hands on the wheel when using the system, which can perform certain driving functions.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Elon Musk, the company's chief executive, told workers this week that the company would cut 10 percent of its workforce. On the same day, two senior executives announced they were leaving the company.
The electric car maker has struggled to maintain its recent rapid growth as more established automakers have begun making and selling battery-powered cars and demand for those vehicles has slowed. Tesla has been slow to respond to that competition; The Cybertruck was its first new model since 2020, but its unusual angular design and starting price of more than $80,000 are expected to limit its appeal and sales.
Tesla's U.S. market share was 51 percent in the first quarter, up from 62 percent at the beginning of 2023, according to Kelley Blue Book.
