Man Alarmed When Cybertruck's Steering and Brakes Fail With Wife and Toddler in Vehicle

"I love my death trap that nearly killed me and my family."

Catastrophe Failure

Tesla fan and Phoenix-based lawyer Matthew Chiarello had a terrifying experience with his Cybertruck.

"Love Tesla and my Cybertruck but 'catastrophe [sic] failure' with steering and brakes while on a road trip with wife and toddler," he tweeted, sharing a picture of his truck being loaded onto a flatbed truck.

"Pretty pretty pretty not good," he added. "Oh and service center not open today."

https://twitter.com/ChiarelloERISA/status/1764357938070626653

Steer-By-Wire

While it's still unclear what exactly happened, it sounds like a serious incident that warrants an investigation. The truck, which started shipping to customers in late 2023 after years of delays, has continuously made headlines for everything from rusty body panels to disintegrating tires.

Meanwhile, users on X-formerly-Twitter were quick to point out Chiarello's seemingly undying love for the car brand, despite the danger it put him and his family in.

"I love my death trap that nearly killed me and my family," one Twitter user replied sarcastically.

Others pointed out the sky-high price of the truck and how it's the first of its kind.

"Buying prototypes for 100k might be a bit risky," one user pointed out.

"Production car," Chiarello replied.

Normie Rockwell

The Cybertruck is a notable departure from the industry median, not only in terms of appearance but features as well. The brutalist pickup uses a steer-by-wire system, which means there's no physical connection between its oddly shaped steering wheel and the wheels.

Tesla claims that "steering Cybertruck feels more responsive and requires less effort from the driver" on its website.

The system has drawn plenty of scrutiny from critics and fans alike, despite not being the first production vehicle to make use of the tech.

The Cybertruck doesn't have a mechanical backup for its steer-by-wire system, but has two redundant computer chips as well as low-voltage battery backups in case of emergencies.

There's a lot we still don't know about the latest incident. What exactly led to the catastrophic failure? Was it a manufacturing error or did human error play a role as well? And did it have anything to do with the steer-by-wire system?

We'll update this space as we hear more.

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