Car company Tesla has issued a recall of nearly all Cybertrucks sold to date, following reports of its accelerator pad becoming stuck at "full throttle".
The recall applies to 3,878 vehicles produced between 13 November and 4 April, when Tesla started utilising soap as a lubricant to aid assembly in an "unapproved change" to the manufacturing process, according to a report from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Association.
In at least two reported cases, residues of this lubricant caused the accelerator pad to detach from its pedal and become trapped in the car's interior trim, causing unwanted acceleration.
"It held the accelerator down 100 per cent at full throttle," one driver describes in a video that seems to demonstrate the issue.
This can "increase the risk of a collision" according to the NHTSA, although a fallback mechanism built into the car ensures that its break can override the accelerator and bring the car to a stop.
No reported crashes
So far, Tesla says it has not received any reports of accidents, injuries or deaths caused by the issue.
Cybertruck deliveries were temporarily paused at the beginning of April due to the fault but have now resumed with a new accelerator pedal.
Owners of the 3,878 Cybertrucks affected by the recall – which, according to TechCrunch, is nearly all of them sold to date – will have to bring their cars into a service centre for a free repair.
Tesla's Cybertruck has been marred in controversy since the concept was first unveiled in 2019, with critics decrying it as "ridiculous" and "dystopian".
Since deliveries started last December, some owners have also complained of rust and a lack of pinch sensors in the doors, which could lead to injuries.
At the end of last year, Tesla also had to issue a recall on most of its other vehicles due to problems with its Autopilot system, which have since been resolved via a software update.