A Tesla Cybertruck Owner Says Kids at his Son’s Baseball Practice Laughed at his Cybertruck After it was Towed – Adds, “28 kids Went From Thinking the Cybertruck Was Cool to Pointing & Laughing”

A Cybertruck owner says that the 10-year-old kids at his son’s baseball practice initially thought the Cybertruck was the coolest vehicle. However, their excitement faded & they started to point & laugh after the Cybertruck had to be towed on a flatbed.

Posted: May 10, 2025 - 9:27AM
Author: Tinsae Aregay

Ernest S. Harbaugh, a Cybertruck owner from Ohio, states that 28 children laughed at his Cybertruck after a minor problem resulted in it being towed on a flatbed.

Ernest says the children were initially cheering the Cybertruck, but their enthusiasm turned to skepticism when the truck experienced an issue that rendered it undrivable.

The issue began when Ernest drove his 10-year-old son to a baseball match in his Cybertruck.

Ernest placed his son’s baseball gear in the front trunk (frunk); however, when they arrived at the field, the frunk wouldn’t open.

This is quite frustrating; however, the Cybertruck owner and father stated he was prepared to drive 40 minutes back home to fetch a replacement glove for his son.

Regrettably, despite his willingness to make this sacrifice to support his child, Ernest states that the Cybertruck detected an issue with the frunk and went into “Limp Mode.”

This is where the truck limits the top speed to 15 miles per hour, meaning that, besides repositioning the vehicle to be towed, there is nothing the owner can do.

At this point, Ernest says he was so frustrated that he briefly considered tying a rope around the frunk, connecting it to a tree, and yanking the frunk open.

The frustrated Cybertruck owner shared his story on the Tesla Cybertruck Owners group on Facebook.

He writes…

“Emergency, frunk won’t open!!!

Is there a way to manually open it???

Just about ready to loop a strap through the top corners and tie it to a tree, then back up and rip it off WhistlinDiesel style.

So pissed! My son’s baseball bag was in there, and the freaking latch decided to allow an inch or two of up-and-down movement but not actually unlatch.

I was going to make the 39-minute drive to get another glove back at the house, only to find that despite the frunk not being able to open, the truck was aware it was not fully closed and retracted.

So, while I had problems driving to the game, I was now only allowed a maximum speed of 15MPH.

Tesla service did end up getting in touch with me. After all the screen resets and power shutdown cycles, it was sent to the service center on a flatbed. I was stuck with a $50 Uber bill, and 28 ten-year-old kids went from thinking the Cybertruck was the coolest vehicle to pointing and laughing as it was towed away on a flatbed truck.”

This is definitely not ideal, and below his post, Ernest included a picture of his Cybertruck loaded onto a flatbed and next to a baseball field.

A Tesla Cybertruck Owner Says Kids at his Son’s Baseball Practice Laughed at his Cybertruck After it was Towed – Adds, “28 kids Went From Thinking the Cybertruck Was Cool to Pointing & Laughing”

It’s an unusual contrast when you consider how differently some kids view the Cybertruck. In a completely unexpected twist from another Cybertruck story, one owner recently returned to his truck to find a handwritten note from an 8-year-old who was having a birthday party nearby. The boy said he loved the Cybertruck and wanted it to be part of his big day. It's a reminder that, for every group of laughing little leaguers, there's another group of young fans who see the Cybertruck as something futuristic and cool.

Looking at the comments, fellow Cybertruck owners offered suggestions on how Ernest might be able to unlock his frunk.

A fellow Cybertruck owner, Ron Shaw, writes…

“Use the physical button in front of the bumper!!!! That bypasses the Bluetooth controls.”

Another Cybertruck owner, Addam Kuzman, asks…

“Have you tried the app, touch screen, and push button?”

A third Cybertruck owner, Joshua Shea, suggests hooking up a 9-volt battery to open the frunk.

These are all good recommendations for a general issue with the frunk; they are especially useful if the Cybertruck is dead and the owner wants to open the frunk.

If a Cybertruck completely turns off, you can use the 48-volt battery to jump-start the vehicle.

However, the problem is that the jump-start leads for the low-voltage system are located under the Cybertruck frunk.

In this case, as Joshua pointed out, you can connect a 9-volt battery to open the frunk automatically.

However, in Ernest's case, the reason the Cyberturck’s frunk is not opening is not due to a lack of power; rather, it is because of an issue with the latch mechanism.

In this instance, the next course of action is to tow the truck to the nearest Tesla service center for a closer inspection.

What makes experiences like Ernest’s even more compelling is how they contrast with the generally smooth—yet still occasionally unexpected—challenges of owning other Tesla models. While some owners are contending with unusual mechanical quirks like a frunk that won’t open or a vehicle that suddenly enters limp mode, others are discovering that the costs of electric vehicle ownership can creep up in less visible ways. For instance, one Tesla Model Y owner reported a surprising 134% jump in their Edison electricity bill—even though they only charged after 11 p.m. Here’s what happened during their first month with a Model Y, and why it might give potential EV buyers something else to think about beyond just range and features.

Regrettably, as Ernest points out, seeing the Cybertruck loaded onto a flatbed made the kids, who were excited about the Cybertruck, point and laugh at the all-electric truck.

Please let me know what you think in the comments. Share your ideas by clicking the RED “Add new comment” button below. Also, be sure to visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.

Image 1: Screenshot from Abstract Ocean YouTube Channel

Image 2: Screenshot from Ernest S. Harbaugh’s Facebook post, reposted under the fair use copyright rule.

For more information, check out: Several Cybertruck Owners are Reporting That State Farm Insurance is Punishing Them for Driving a Tesla – They Add, “We’re Getting Significant Discounts for Our Gas Cars but Not for Our Teslas”

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.

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