For a vehicle ostensibly designed to go anywhere, Tesla's Cybertruck seems to have a lot of trouble in mundane settings.
As one recent owner found out, even a car wash was able to defeat the 6,600-pound pickup. As spotted by Jalopnik, a routine visit through a car wash to get sand off the truck after a beach visit seemingly caused the entire vehicle to shut down. The center console went blank, turning the stainless steel monstrosity into a giant brick.
"I'm about two and half months in and 3,400 miles," TikTok user captain.ad said in a recent video, "and it's not working right now."
After holding down two buttons on the steering wheel to reset the screen, the dashboard made a strange noise.
"That was a weird popping sound," the owner said, perplexed.
$TSLA Cybertruck owners ..
1) do NOT wash your car in sunlight and
2) do NOT tell Tesla SCs that you drove it through a car wash (like this guy) even if you turned on Car Wash Mode. They will void your warranty. 💀 pic.twitter.com/eXpaxlm2X6
— Stonk King (((🌕))) (@StonkKing4) April 16, 2024
It's not exactly confidence-inducing to see a car that's meant to serve as a rugged off-the-grid base — and even a way to get around Mars, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk — turn into a giant "Tesla Paperweight," as captain.ad quipped, after a routine hosing off.
We've already seen our fair share of issues with the vehicle, from massive panel gaps and cracked "armor glass" to failing steering controls and besmirched stainless steel.
Earlier this week, news emerged that Tesla stopped delivering all Cybertrucks to address a glaring issue with the controversial vehicle's accelerator pedal.
Fortunately, in the case of the car wash, captain.ad's vehicle mysteriously started working again after he filed a ticket and went to bed. The vehicle seemingly needed a complete reboot, which was triggered by him holding down the two buttons the night before — but required five excruciating hours to complete.
"Imagine if there was a zombie apocalypse, and you reset your Cybertruck," one TikTok user commented.
Despite being designed to be a rugged truck ready for a dystopian hellscape, taking care of a Cybertruck sounds like a nightmare, requiring more babying than virtually any other pickup.
Hilariously, Tesla warns that the truck should never be washed in "direct sunlight" due to possible corrosion in the stainless steel. A special "Car Wash Mode," which closes all windows and disables wipers, should also be used to avoid damage.
Drivers also have to opt out of regular car washes and are told only to use "touchless car washes" that don't make contact with the Cybertruck's surface.
And in case you forget to follow any of this advice, you may be out of luck when it comes to having the company fix your broken-down truck.
"Failure to put Cybertruck in Car Wash Mode may result in damage," the company's manual reads. "Damage caused by car washes is not covered by the warranty."
"Damage caused by improper washing" is also not covered.
As always, Tesla isn't in the business of talking to the media, so we're unlikely to find out what exactly caused the latest issue or if it was related to the owner cleaning his truck.
But if there's one takeaway: don't take your luxury Tesla truck to the car wash — as ludicrous as that may sound.
More on the Cybertruck: Tesla Recalling All Cybertrucks After Disastrous Issue With Accelerator Getting Stuck Down
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