Are the 2024 Tesla Cybertruck's wheels defective?
That's the question Jordan (@jordan8tatum) asks as he's sitting on the side of the road with his wife Tatum with two of his Cybertrucks wheels broken off. He also asks, "Does the Cybertruck have concrete rims?"
That's the question I will answer in this report.
First, picture yourself buying a 2024 Tesla Cybertruck for $80,000; you think it's bulletproof and indestructible. That's what everyone told you. You purchased the new electric Tesla truck for its luxury but more for its toughness.
The Cybertruck is known for its unique design and materials, including its ultra-hard 30X cold-rolled stainless-steel exoskeleton and armored glass.
But what about its wheels?
Imagine that you and your wife are driving at highway speeds on the interstate, and you feel your truck begin to shake; you hear a loud pop, and the rear of your truck suddenly drops.
You hear the same sound coming from the back of the truck, and you see your rear wheel bounce off to the side of the road in your mirror.
You immediately put on the brakes as your truck tilts to the left. You can get to the shoulder of the road and bring the truck to a stop. It all happens within a few seconds.
You look at your wife, who has a stunned look on her face, and you say, "What just happened?" She is terrified now and can't say a word. You jump out of your truck, and the rear and front wheels have broken off from your new Cybertruck. You can't believe it.
It happened to Jordan and Tatum.
In his video, Jordan's Cybertruck can be seen on the shoulder of the busy highway with cars speeding past. His emergency lights are flashing as he shows the broken wheel. The tow truck has just arrived and backs up to his Cybertruck, which is undriveable. He instructs the tow truck driver to load the broken truck and take it to the nearest Tesla service center.
Jordan reveals that the rear wheel has broken completely. The front wheel is still attached to the hub, but it's badly cracked and broken.
He can't believe what he's looking at.
"All right, I'm showing you my broken Cybertruck rims. I don't know what kind of steel they are made of or if it's some kind of special metal alloy or something."
But it's almost like cider block; it crumbles, he says as he walks to the back of his Cybertruck. He reveals the rear wheel is also broken off at the studs.
"This one broke off with the lugs and part of the wheel still attached. It almost broke off in a perfect circle. They aren't supposed to break off in a perfect circle like that.”
It's so weird, it's concerning. Is there a defect with the Cybertruck? He says that even in a crash, the Cybertruck rims shouldn't crumble.
Jordan finishes, "I seriously think the Cybertruck Rims need a recall! Have y'all ever seen a rim snap off in a perfect circle?"
Are the 2024 Tesla Cybertruck's wheels defective?
Other than some Cybertruck owners complaining about premature tire wear, there are no problems with the Cybertruck's forged aluminum wheels.
CBT News says Telsa did recall 2,431 Cybertrucks to address a faulty drive inverter that could cause a loss of power to the wheels. However, the faulty part does not affect the Cybertruck's wheels.
Tesla's official written statement notes, "If the inverter stops producing torque, the driver loses the ability to apply torque to the vehicle using the accelerator pedal, resulting in a loss of propulsion, which may increase the risk of a collision."
Jordan should have started the video sooner.
I think Jordan hit a high concrete curb or something hard that cracked both wheels. In the video, I can see that the rear wheel cladding has been broken, and part of it is completely missing, which tells me he hit something hard enough to break the rear wheel molding.
That's why the rear wheel completely broke off at the hub.
The front wheel also hit something but wasn't as damaged as the rear. After that, Jordan and his wife took the Cybertruck out on the highway. The wheels were so badly damaged already that the wheels broke with the vibration at 65-70 mph he was driving.
Commenters agree with my Sherlock Holmes investigative assessment.
theharryg1 - Wheels don't just fall apart for no reason. As much as I hate the cyber truck, this was definitely from a horrible driver.
MetalMayhem234 - Yes, crashing into a concrete barrier is INDEED defective.
Joemama4298 - He hits a curb at 100 mph, and the "Wheels are defective?"
B1-2C - It looks like he hit a curb hard with cast wheels in a heavy vehicle.
BadBoy - The quality of the rims has nothing to do here. Show us what you hit.
Neil DeVo - I'm a collision estimator; this happens to most cars when you smoke a curb. Something catastrophic happened here. Don't be fooled.
Cdelcast84 - The edge of the wheels tells the story. Why doesn't he show what the truck hit?
sunshine_state_life - They need to make those concrete curbs softer, man. Otherwise, people will sue the contractor for ruining their cars.
The violation guy - It depends on how hard you hit the curb; it doesn't just happen.
Jordan finishes by saying, "Even in a crash, the Cybertruck rims shouldn't crumble. I seriously think the Cybertruck Rims need a recall! Have y'all ever seen a rim snap off in a perfect circle?"
What should Jordan have done?
Tesla offers a wheel and tire protection plan owners can purchase separately, but the Cybertruck is not included.
Tesla says, "The Wheel and Tire Protection Plan (WTPP) is designed to provide a solution when an unforeseen incident occurs, damaging your vehicle's tires and wheels. From road hazards like potholes and debris to unexpected punctures, this plan provides 12-month coverage for repairing or replacing your vehicle's tires and associated wheels for a one-time fee per tire.”
Does Tesla’s warranty cover the wheels?Unfortunately, Tesla's Cybertruck warranty does not cover off-roading or driving on uneven surfaces. A report on Reddit reveals this about the Cybertruck’s warranty:
Driving off-road:
Tesla's warranty says, "Driving over eleven, rough, damaged or hazardous surfaces, including but not limited to, curbs, potholes, unfinished roads, debris, or other obstacles, or in competition, racing or autocross or for any other purposes for which it was not designed."
Conclusion.
The Cybertruck is designed for tough duty, but no vehicle's wheels can withstand a severe hit like Jordan's Cybertruck likely did. It will be an expensive lesson, and he will pay for two new wheels and tires.
What do you think happened to Cybertruck's wheels? Click the red Add New Comment link below and let us know.
How does the Cybertruck perform on a long road trip?
Check out my report titled; Tesla Cybertruck Owner Says, “I Took a Road Trip From NC to Toronto, Stopping Every 2 Hours To Charge For 20 Minutes Became Tedious”
I am Denis Flierl, a Senior Torque News Reporter since 2012. My 30+ year tenure in the automotive industry, initially in a consulting role with every major car brand and later as a freelance journalist test-driving new vehicles, has equipped me with a wealth of knowledge. I specialize in reporting the latest automotive news and providing expert analysis on Subaru, which you'll find here, ensuring that you, as a reader, are always well-informed and up-to-date. Follow me on my X SubaruReport, All Subaru, WRXSTI, @DenisFlierl, Facebook, and Instagram.
Photo credit: Denis Flierl via Jordan
Comments
There’s definitely more…
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There’s definitely more story to it, this cyber truck must hit something really bad in order for the wheel to broke off or he must be driving on a wobbly wheel for a long time. No way in the world this wheel can come off broken like this without damaging the wheels.
Has no one commenting on…
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In reply to There’s definitely more… by Msheikh (not verified)
Has no one commenting on here. Heard of a pothole? Most people are aware of hitting curbs or running things over, but people who drive Teslas with full self-driving don't pay attention to what they hit on the road. The FSD does not Dodge potholes. You just run them over and your wheels fall off.
Actually I read an article…
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In reply to There’s definitely more… by Msheikh (not verified)
Actually I read an article on my Google news feed and I had clicked on it because it showed a picture of nothing but cyber Tesla trucks and a junkyard and all of them in the picture had something wrong with either the front wheel where they were broken off just like this or the back wheel where it was broken up just like this I do think that it is weird and that it is made up of concrete or something because in that Google News Post somebody said the same thing about their cyber truck tire like crumbling like concrete it almost reminds me of those old floor lamps that had the concrete base
Maybe the foam detached from…
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Maybe the foam detached from the tire and caused vibrations which caused the wheel to crack? Tesla knows the tire foam problem is an issue but does nothing about it. My car had 5k miles on it when it started to shake violently at highway speeds. Took it in the did a tire balance and wheel alignment. Went away for about a month and the violent shaking came back. After quick search online I found out about tire foam issue. I then took the car in mentioned it to them and sure enough that was what was happening. They know it's an issue and charge you a balancing fee to diagnose it but if they balance the tire and test drive it and don't feel the shake they consider it fixed. However it just takes that foam inside the tire to shift slightly to have the car out of balance again. It's BS and they know about it but continue using the foam or crappy adhesive that keeps the foam glued to the tire.
You didn't pay enough!
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You didn't pay enough!
Tesla sucks stay away
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Tesla sucks stay away
I've never seen a forged…
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I've never seen a forged wheel do that, but have seen cast wheels break like that. I'd definitely have those wheels inspected by a 3rd party. They're either not forged, or they're way too thin.
I agree. Those wheels can't…
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In reply to I've never seen a forged… by Rsm61 (not verified)
I agree. Those wheels can't be forged. And they look to be poorly cast material. Even a good cast wheel would just bend or hairline crack if it hit something.
The weight of these trucks…
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The weight of these trucks are crazy high. These are the weight of a ford superduty on a unibody. I just can't trust that much weight on that body. Add to that, Tesla build quality, recipe for disaster
I would want to actually see…
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I would want to actually see the entire tire, to see if there is any evidence of impact. I find it hard to believe that he hit BOTH wheels hard enough to crack both wheels.
My first thought was…
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My first thought was overtightened lugs (ask me how I know), but after seeing the actual wheel and how scraped up the rim is, I'm guessing dude can't parallel park or did something stupid.
The defective detective says…
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In reply to My first thought was… by T (not verified)
The defective detective says look at the curb rash on the wheel. Somebody hit something before the incident.
It looks like the cladding…
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It looks like the cladding you speak of... Broke off when the wheel did.... The wheel coming off at highway speeds OBVIOUSLY took out the cladding, how you didn't get that I have no clue. You obviously don't know much about cars. The wheels absolutely could, and should not crack or break, under absolutely any circumstances.... Even hitting a concrete curb... The beefy tires are a cushion... And even then... Forged aluminum does not crack like that... Unless they are junk... The driver is fine. The wheels are faulty and junk.
While not a Tesla owner or…
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While not a Tesla owner or fan, the damaged rim says everything. This driver didn't just smoke a curb, he drove through something. The scrapes on the outer edge of the rim go all the way around and show excessive wear. Looks more like he was rock climbing with it. Take your drama elsewhere and tell everyone what you really did with your truck. Nothing is impossible to break, you just have to own up to it when you were responsible. The truth is out there and someone will tell it, eventually.
The scrapes go all the way…
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In reply to While not a Tesla owner or… by Tig (not verified)
The scrapes go all the way around huh? Almost like the wheel came off at highway speeds and flew off to the side of the road...
The scratches couldn't possibly be from something like that could they?
The Tesla tire warranty is…
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The Tesla tire warranty is purchased individually for each tire? Who sells vehicles with these terms? Is the richest guy in the world really that desperate for money?
I'm glad I didn't buy any of this guy's products before he showed his true face: he's a menace.
What do you expect from the…
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In reply to The Tesla tire warranty is… by Marshall (not verified)
What do you expect from the careless idiot that owns the business. Poor pre-production trials and testing. Too eager to get another buck.
The "truck" is to powerful…
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The "truck" is to powerful for CAST aluminum 😂😂😂
Sure, the wheels weren't…
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Sure, the wheels weren't defective, but the spellchecker used by this author sure is.
"Tesla's warranty says, "Driving over eleven, rough, damaged or hazardous surfaces" Eleven? How about twelve?
"But it's almost like cider block"
All too often, lazy authors rely upon technology and fail to adequately check their work. Do better.
That doesn't look like a…
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That doesn't look like a forged wheel. That looks like a cast and the wheel was NOT designed for the weight of the truck and the torque from the motor power. There is no sign of a hard hit on the rim area, so the failure was because a poor engineering was done combined with a cheap material selection... It started with small cracks, and if nobody pays attention this is what happens.
That wheel is super badly…
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That wheel is super badly designed, it's so thin where the spoke square meets the hub compared to a normal alum truck wheel. Between those square spokes, the cutaway material is a high-stress zone, and note the several cracks right there. A wheel must be strong at the hub, and that one is not.
Wheels can fall off all…
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Wheels can fall off all vehicles if the owner fails to torque lug nuts down to 105 ft-lbs. It's just the nature of aluminum wheels. If the lugs are torqued properly, they will counter rotate during driving and fall off the wheels. I have seen it happen as fast as 75 miles distance and as long as 800 miles. Don't blame the Vehicle, blame the driver.
I'm on the road all day. No…
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I'm on the road all day. No truck I've ever owned whether the wheels were factory or aftermarket have ever broken because of a large pothole or me going over large curbs. I've taken my stock trucks rock climbing and mudding and have never broken a wheel on any truck I've owned whether it be a 72 ford or 22 ram. It's a design flaw. They make things cheap and easy to break so they don't have to cover it under warranty. That's one vehicle that should've stayed a concept and never put into production. It's not a real truck. Real trucks don't break under pressure.
Im confused so you re…
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Im confused so you re assuming he hit something hard and then drove on the freeway. You provide no evidence and knowing my dumb experiences as a teenager that used crappy junkyard wheels ive never blown a whole rim off like that while hitting something. And then you back up your comment from others who agree with you but most of them don't come up with their own conclusion besides taking yours at face value. Seems like they were mislead into believing he hit something which he did not claim, you did. Literally an echo chamber of presumptive information that is almost armchair investigation work. Also what does Tesla's statement have to do with the wheels?? They did not acknowledge it so why throw a tsb of some random stuff? Better off saying Tesla did not respond to comment as of yet. Also why not bring up the consumer reports data on Tesla ownership? Wouldve been nice to bring up overarching concerns from actual owners. This article is yet another attempt to defend Tesla even when there isnt enough information to assess. Im sorry but for a journalist at your tenure this was a bad take filled with cognitive bias and overall bias for one side without properly acknowleding the other. Do better.
So many people in the…
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So many people in the comments just wanting it to be tesla because they dislike Musk. Funny. This owner 1000% skipped a couple points in his turn to get out of a spot or the back end dropped off something hard enough to crack the wheelwells & over time (not much time) it got worse until it had a catastrophic failure. Unfortunately without seeing the whole truck & inspecting it top to bottom it is all just wild speculation, whether you like Musk or not. If it was just one wheel or one on the rear drivers side & the other on the front passenger side then I'd be inclined to look more at the tire than the driver. Also, you have to take into account that there hasn't been a single other truck that has had anything close to this situation happening. Don't let your political views get in the way of logic, common sense & reasoning. Just because Musk supports Trump doesn't mean the Cybertruck is somehow a death trap. 🤦♂️
Wow By the way, such a heavy…
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Wow
By the way, such a heavy and powerful vehicle deserves some forged wheels (they are both stronger and bend instead of getting broken in extreme cases…)
Curb/uneven road is the most…
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Curb/uneven road is the most likely culprit, but there is an off-chance it could be a defect with the wheel itself.
If there was bad chemistry with the alloy, or if there was an issue with tempering/heat treating (not sure what hardening process they use), this is pretty much what that failure would look like.
If so, it would likely be a one-off problem rather than a systemic one.
This is what happens when…
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This is what happens when manufactures go with cast alloys instead of using stamped steel for rims! People seem to think if it looks good it is good and it isn't! To replace rims that were engineered to be suitable for the intended purpose is as we all know, just the same as it is with the law of right to repair or used to be when people chose to modify their rides so long as they were still safe to drive. This is one of the reasons I never understood why states didn't follow up on annual or semi annual safety inspections? As a person that spent most of my life in vehicle repair business I never will understand why this is. Inspections save lives far better then the 55 saves lives mentality! I've had both bent steel rims and distorted or broken alloy wheels to deal with of my own and customers. I've also had custom heavy steel spoke plated rims on one of my vehicles that were far stronger then alloys and SEMA certified and approved by NHRA, they looked great on the car too. I now own a 2000 Pontiac and a 1998 both with cast alloys and recently replaced a rim on the 20000 that took a hit in a pot hole @ 60 that distorted it. I was able to heat that rim and straight it to a degree and ran it for yrs before replacing it. If people paid more attention to their driving less of this would be happening but I also believe if people were required to test for licence renewal we would have al it fewer drivers and car on the roads which would cut down on wrecks and broken parts but what the heck do I know? I'm 64 now and haven't been involved in any accidents I cause since I was in high school in the 70's. My drivers ed instructor failed me but I became a professional over the road driver of semis , my welding instructor did the same but I spent several yrs as an industrial welder certified by all the big oil companies and several world wide operating structural engineering firms. Certain states are more concerned about smog then they are about keeping roads safe for people to drive on , just goes to show how much much wisdom is excited by Gov. Agencies, we know how that is too!
I disagree with your…
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I disagree with your Sherlock Holmesing, looking at which direction the tire would have come off and out from under the vehicle it's very easy to see how the cladding could have been knocked off by the wheel exiting the wheel well at a high speed. My John Holmesing tells me that this rim very well could have cracked under a stress fracture. Meaning that any bump in the road could have reacted on a stress fracture and caused an overall failure. It is after all an aluminum alloy rim.
I didn't read the whole…
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I didn't read the whole story, but is there the part where he says " I still love the car..." like all the rest of the poor saps who are afraid to say out loud they made a huge mistake buying a beta product?
"The car exploded and took away my sight, but I still love it."
Pagination