--- title: "Tesla Quietly Contacting Early Cybertruck Buyers to Replace Their Electric Motors" description: "Cybertrucks have been shipped out to customers for less than a year, but the earliest owners seem to already need new motors." date: "2024-07-09" modified: "2024-07-09" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-quietly-replacing-early-cybertruck-motors" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "cybertruck" - "tesla" - "the digest" - "upgrade" --- # Tesla Quietly Contacting Early Cybertruck Buyers to Replace Their Electric Motors ![Cybertrucks have been shipped out to customers for less than a year, but the earliest owners seem to already need new motors.]() *\Image: David Canales/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty / Futurism\* ## Early Warning Cybertrucks have been shipped out to customers for less than a year, but the earliest owners seem to already need new motors. As [*Electrek* reports](), Tesla has begun contacting select early Cybertruck owners to tell them that the company will "upgrade" their electric motors, of which the brutalist pickups have [at least two](), with more "efficient and reliable" versions during their next service visits. The company reportedly told buyers the voluntary motor upgrades are part of a "study" of early Cybertrucks and that their vehicles are still safe to drive. As [*Inverse* noted]() in its own reporting, the offer appears to only apply to its [Foundation Series]() models that cost $20,000 more than the regular ones and featured cosmetic upgrades alongside [well-documented kinks](). ## Problematic Fave Among [early Cybertruck issues]() were sunken "frunks," stuck pedal problems that [predicated a recall](), [failing breaks](), [broken giant windshield wipers](), and [other headaches]() for drivers who shelled out and waited years to be among the vehicle's first owners. Interestingly enough, motor issues have not been included in the many reports we've heard about the futuristic-looking vehicles' woes. As of right now, there's a lot that remains unclear about this not-recall, including whether Tesla intends to replace the front or rear motors in those early Cybertrucks or how many people were offered the upgrade offer. This voluntary replacement campaign could, as *Electrek* points out, be the start of a "soft" retrofitting campaign for problems the company has found with the drivetrains on the Foundation Series' motors. The upgrade will come, as both outlets note, at zero cost to Cybertruck owners — though of course [recalls don't cost buyers anything](), either. **More on Cybertruck:** [*Tesla Megafan Receives Two Subsequent Cybertrucks That Completely Fail*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()