When Lamar finally got the keys to his Cybertruck, he couldn’t believe his luck. He had coveted the four-ton stainless steel colossus ever since he first laid eyes on it five years ago, and after two months of persistent lobbying, his wife consented to putting down a deposit.
“My family was initially against it. They thought it looked too ugly, so I had a lot of convincing to do,” the 33-year-old says.
Yet the dream of owning one of the very first Cybertrucks morphed into a four-month-long nightmare.
Just two weeks in, the spanking new $100,000 vehicle broke down and proceeded to spend more time in the shop than on the road as Tesla mechanics struggled to keep the electrical systems up and running.
After multiple loaners, mounting desperation, and a half dozen visits to a Raleigh service center nearly two hours’ drive away, he took to social media because he could find no other way to escalate the issue.
By the time Tesla relented and granted him a replacement that also ended up breaking down, the issue had reached the personal attention of CEO Elon Musk himself, who assured Lamar the company would make good.
But the scars remain, and even if all is forgiven, it is not forgotten.
“You’re on edge, scared to even go a distance in it”
The entire excruciating experience, which he shared with Fortune, reveals a culture at Tesla that, while daring and innovative, can be in equal parts unaccountable.
“Every time we drive we wonder if is it going to break again,” he says. “It’s always in your thoughts. You’re on edge, scared to even go a distance in it.”
The tight-knit community of loyal owners can be supportive, but often only if problems are handled discretely and out of the public eye.
The current situation of the Cybertruck right now: Tesla Can’t get access to jump it or attempt to fix it. 🤦♂️ @elonmusk @cybertruck @Tesla @tesla_na pic.twitter.com/5js4PSku2B
— Lamar MK (@LamarMK) July 1, 2024
Otherwise, support can turn into harassment—which is one reason why Lamar, whose full name is known to this publication, prefers not to see his last name in print.
While his story is an extreme case, it broadly mimics problems with the vehicle that have resulted in multiple recalls for entirely other issues, such as unintended acceleration, a faulty windshield wiper, and plastic trim that can fly off while driving.
Other customers have complained about phantom drain, the speed at which the battery charge is depleted when not in use.
The truck features a whole slew of new technology, including steer-by-wire, which removes any mechanical connection between the driver’s steering wheel and the front axle.
Its unique wedge shape stems from the metal’s inability to be pressed in three-dimensional stamping dies—it can only be bent into straight creases and sharp edges. If you want it in any color, it has to be wrapped in vinyl or urethane since paint does not adhere properly to stainless steel.
Lamar’s experience with the vehicle, which began two weeks in with the first breakdown, may also explain why profitability at Tesla’s core car business just reached a five-year low.
“It was the truck of my dreams”
When production of the truck finally launched last November in Texas—years behind schedule in part due to supply chain shortages following the pandemic—Lamar had already given up. That summer he had bought his first Tesla, a Model Y he called Cherry.
As soon as he found out he could spend Tesla credits earned from referring customers to the brand—a virtual currency that can buy merch, free supercharging miles or a complementary month of Full Self-Driving—he blew half of them just to be bumped up higher on the waiting list for the Cybertruck.
His was one of the first 2,000 Cybertrucks built and the first dispatched to his local Tesla service center in North Carolina in March this year.
“They were just as excited as I was,” he recalls.
The Tesla enthusiast knew the kinks that can come with owning a model right after the start of production, but Lamar was more than willing to take that risk. “It was the truck of my dreams.”
His all-wheel drive Foundation Series was the most expensive vehicle he ever bought.
He christened it “Beskar”, after the prized alloy adorning the armor of Mandalorians like Boba Fett. Soon he would find out the truck was nothing like the invulnerable metal from Star Wars canon.
Cybertruck is Musk’s boldest gamble yet
For the Tesla CEO, the Cybertruck is deeply personal. This time, it wasn’t just the propulsion technology or the software that dared be different: the whole design shattered the convention of full-size pickups, a segment so quintessentially American that almost all are sold in the United States.
Cybertruck struck by repeated problems
For Lamar, that is little consolation since he suffered repeated problems over the course of four months.
Much like his truck, Lamar broke down, realizing the vehicle was more trouble than it was worth. He didn’t want his money back, but he also didn’t want his Cybertruck anymore. “Beskar” had to go.
