Tesla Recalls 27,185 Cybertrucks for Faulty Backup Cameras

Tesla Cybertruck Recalled for Faulty Backup CameraNurPhoto - Getty Images

Elon Musk's slab-side steel beast is in need of another fix. On September 26, Tesla issued its fifth recall of the Cybertruck this year. This one, which potentially affects 27,185 Cybertrucks, concerns a backup camera that could be too slow to turn on when drivers shift into reverse.

Regulations require the rear backup camera to display within two seconds of selecting reverse. The Cybertruck could take six to eight seconds for its camera to display under certain conditions, Tesla says, prompting this recall.

Those conditions? “The vehicle system (including the rear view image) may not complete a shutdown process before the system is commanded to boot-up,” NHTSA recall documents note. “If the driver starts a backing event before the vehicle system completes its shut down and boot-up, the rear view image may not display within two seconds of placing the vehicle in reverse as required.”

So far, Tesla has noted 45 warranty claims for the issue, but no collisions, fatalities or injuries. The fix is an easy one, as is often the case with Tesla recalls. Beginning on September 19, Tesla pushed an over-the-air update “that ensures the back-up camera display complies with the two-second response time.” Vehicles in production on September 18 or later shipped with the software update already installed; Tesla stores and service centers were informed of the recall on September 30.

Tesla says in the recall documents that production dates for those affected span between the start of production and September 14 this year. Unlike past recalls, this one doesn’t say it affects “all Model Year 2024 Cybertruck vehicles.” Instead, Tesla characterizes it as “certain Model Year (MY) 2024 Cybertruck vehicles manufactured between November 13, 2023, and September 14, 2024, that are or were operating with a specific software logic for low voltage hardware.”

Tesla does not release sales figures for the Cybertruck, so it’s impossible to check, but the 27,185 listed in the recall notice is likely close to the total Cybertruck population, given the date span provided. Production numbers and sales took a steep jump upwards lately, with S&P Global Mobility estimating 5,175 Cybertruck registrations in the month of July. Considering there were only 11,383 Cybertrucks in June this year (a figure revealed by a total-population recall), that means Tesla has more than doubled the number of its pickup trucks on the road since then.

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