Tesla’s Cybertruck, the angular, stainless steel beast heralded as the future of electric pickups, is facing yet another bump in the road — and this time, it’s literally peeling. A recent recall involving over 46,000 units — nearly every Cybertruck delivered so far — has triggered renewed scrutiny over the vehicle’s quality control. But it’s not just the scale of the recall that has raised eyebrows. It’s the nature of the fix.
Glue, patches, and a pair of nuts. That’s the solution. And for some early adopters who shelled out upwards of $100,000, it’s not going down smoothly.
In mid-March 2025, Tesla issued a recall affecting 46,096 Cybertrucks. The defect centers around a steel trim panel — known as the “cant rail” — that runs along the top edge of the side windows. Reports indicate that the panel can become detached while the vehicle is in motion, posing a safety risk not only to the driver but to anyone nearby.
The recall fix, released via Tesla’s internal service bulletin and now publicly known, involves applying butyl adhesive patches to the cant rail, and securing the ends with two new nuts fastened onto existing studs. Depending on the vehicle, techs might apply either two or eight adhesive patches, depending on how secure the panel appears after inspection.
The simplicity of the solution might be reassuring in a different context. But for Cybertruck owners who expected military-grade durability and engineering elegance, it feels more like a Band-Aid than a factory-grade repair.
While Tesla’s fix may seem straightforward on paper, the real-world execution has already drawn criticism. One Cybertruck owner, posting under the handle @CTDriver on the CybertruckOwnersClub forum, detailed a troubling post-repair experience:
“I finally picked up my truck yesterday after the service appointment,” he wrote. “The cantrail trim does NOT look good at all, the gap got tiny bit smaller, but still looks very uneven and misaligned. Plus, a circular burned mark appeared on the base of the new trim piece (welding mark), I also found a patch of scratches on this brand new trim.”
