Tesla Cybertruck Tailgates Are Warping Because Of Shifting Payloads

Photo: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto (Getty Images)

Tesla Cybertrucks are proving to be absolutely dogshit when it comes to doing truck stuff. Now, we’ve got another example of just that. A Cybertruck Owners Club forum user made a post at the end of last week detailing the damage his truck sustained by hauling something it was supposed to handle with ease.

Tesla’s Cybertruck Has Finally Arrived

User xhawk101 posted on the forum that he was hauling a load of 12-foot composite decking boards. Despite double-checking that the truck’s payload capacity wasn’t exceeded, the load apparently shifted and put too much weight on the tailgate. Now, that tailgate is warped. Luckily for him, it still shifts, but pictures on the forum show that stainless steel body panels don’t line up anymore. He added, “Perhaps I should have known, but alas I was unaware of the potential.” Buddy, it’s not your fault your shitty truck is falling apart around you.

Pictures posted by the user show a really noticeable bend in the Cybertruck Foundation Series’s tailgate. It’s not a good look at all. Here’s what he said about what has caused the damage:

Boards were as far in bed as possible until the truck accelerated faster than should (using traffic aware cruise). I should have been driving manually very carefully which I did the rest of the way. However, I’m pretty sure when it lurched forward it shifted the load. Note to use chill mode IF using TACC probably would be ok. And yes I’m sure a new tailgate is not cheap…

[…]

Tailgate was down and agree the bendy composite boards sliding further out was definitely contributory.

It’s a brutal lesson to learn, for sure. Xhawk101 posted a follow-up saying he doesn’t expect Tesla to cover this, and I agree with him. Tesla doesn’t list a load limit for the tailgate, but the Cybertruck Dual Motor has a bed capacity of 2,500 pounds, and the tri-motor truck drops that down to 2,000 pounds.

Right now, the Cybertruck owner says he’s going to live with the damage and try to get it adjusted if it’s possible because the tailgate still closes, it just looks awful.

You can add this to the list of truck-stuff-related issues Cybertruck owners have had to deal with since the truck first launched. Towing too much can crack its subframe, the bed length is a lie, it can’t get up a ramp and your bike could damage it.