Tesla is an impressive company by many metrics but one place where it has noticeably struggled is glue. Specifically the glue the EV company has been using to stitch together its beleaguered monstrosity the Cybertruck. Earlier this year, Wired reported that nearly all of the Cybertrucks on the market had been recalled because Tesla used the “wrong glue” to attach the stainless steel panels the car is known for. As a result, the panels were at risk of falling off mid-ride.
Now, the company appears to have yet another adhesive-related problem on its hands. A regulatory filing made by Tesla this week shows the company is recalling another 6,197 Cybertrucks because yet another piece of its overpriced car is at risk of falling off onto the road. “On affected vehicles, the service-installed optional off-road light bar accessory may have been inadvertently attached to the windshield using the incorrect surface primer,” the filing states. The filing was originally reported by Business Insider.
The document goes on to note that the improperly glued light-bar might, in certain circumstances, be hazardous to other drivers on the road: “If the service installed optional off-road light bar accessory separates while the vehicle is in drive, it could create a road hazard for following motorists and increase their risk of a collision,” the filing states.
Nobody wants to be hit by a flying light bar, so the fix is obviously much appreciated. It sounds, again, like Tesla used the wrong glue to attach the fixture: “The remedy component is attached with a bracket anchored to the vehicle structure and, if necessary, an adhesive tape, whereas the recalled component was installed using a potentially incorrect adhesive primer,” the filing states.
Tesla has said that, as of this month, it had only “identified 619 warranty claims and 1 field report that may be related to the condition.” The company added that it was not aware of “any collisions, fatalities, or injuries that are or may be related to the condition.”
The Cybertruck has been broadly derided as an ugly failure. Originally, Tesla is said to have planned for a production capacity of 250,000 trucks per year, but sold a little less than 40,000 units last year, according to estimates from Cox Automotive. Since then, sales haven’t picked up much and, earlier this year, the U.S. Air Force finally found a good use for the vehicle: target practice.
People claim Elon Musk is a genius and Musk, himself, has often cultivated this image by claiming he wants to do many impressive and Herculean things—stuff like “colonize Mars,” make humanity a “multiplanetary species,” and save the world from a slew of perceived threats (the “woke mind virus,” etc.). However, before Musk becomes the messianic technocratic leader he dreams of being, he is going to have to first master that oldest of rudimentary technologies: the goop that holds stuff together.
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