Anyone who has ever excitedly awaited the delivery of a new car can relate to Tesla Cybertruck Owners Club forum member bdesign. Four years ago, he placed his initial reservation for one of the stainless-steel electric pickups. Then, earlier this year, he received an invitation to place his final order. He would finally be taking home the new truck that would replace his V8-powered Chevy Silverado Trail Boss. Little did he know that the new Tesla would later send him to the emergency room.
(Warning: the images and video linked in this forum post and below are graphic, so avoid them if you are squeamish at the sight of blood.)
While bdesign said on the forum that he had a few concerns during the lead-up to this moment, he determined that switching to the Cybertruck was indeed the right move for him. So he set up his delivery for May 25.
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Cybertruck's quality problems
After years of anticipation, early owners have experienced many problems with their Tesla Cybertrucks, including the appearance of rust, an accelerator pedal recall and the sharp edges from the stainless steel body panels.
When the delivery day finally came, it didn't go quite the way he hoped, to put it gently. The truck had several visual blemishes and build quality issues. It was clear that the service center team did not properly prep the vehicle. In a forum post just after taking delivery, he described the truck as being in "sloppy, sloppy condition at delivery."
Some of the issues he observed and reported in his post were:
- A dirty interior windshield making it difficult to see
- The front hood was covered in rail dust rust
- A rubber seal along the tonneau cover was loose
- A panel from the truck bed came off on the initial drive
- A small dent or divot was visible on the tailgate
The dent got his attention the most. He ran his finger across this damaged area to see if it was indeed a dent or perhaps some kind of residue. As he was rubbing the damaged area of the panel, he felt a sudden sharp pain and jerked his hand away. Due to the angle of his arm, he apparently slit his wrist open on the extremely sharp corner where the side panels and the tailgate meet.
Update Monday, May 28: The video has since been made private, so we have gone ahead and removed it. A screenshot can be seen below.
Initially, he thought this was just a superficial cut. So did the Tesla employees who joked, “This thing can be dangerous!” Then they noticed the blood pooling on the ground below him. The service team rushed to get a first aid kit, with which they disinfected and bandaged his wound.
Despite this rather disastrous delivery, bdesign did finalize the paperwork and take the truck home. But by the end of the day, his wound still hadn’t begun to close. So he spent the evening in the emergency room.
Unfortunately, bdesign isn’t the first owner to get a gash from the Cybertruck. Earlier this month, another owner cut themselves on the door's edge when exiting the vehicle. Of course, this type of door injury is not unheard of. For instance, a Bolt EUV owner had this happen to them on more than one occasion. A Rivian owner injured themselves in a similar manner, gashing their leg on the gear tunnel door.
But the unusually sharp corners of the Cybertruck’s exterior could prove dangerous to both owners and pedestrians. This is a concern that automotive reviewers, safety experts and owners have been pointing out for months. We even saw this as far back as December, when reviewer Jason Cammisa ripped his shirt and cut his arm on the edge of the vehicle’s hood.
So this is not a one-off occurrence. Hopefully, it will not become more common as more trucks hit the streets, and we hope bdesign has an easier time with his truck from now on.
Gallery: 2024 Tesla Cybertruck Review
