If you were thinking of purchasing a Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Cybertruck in the near future, you may be out of luck. That’s because the electric vehicle (EV) producer just issued a stop-sale order, effectively halting all deliveries of the Cybertruck.
This futuristic vehicle had a complicated journey to finally getting on the road and it seems that its problems aren’t over yet. Jalopnik reports that a problem with the electric truck’s accelerator pedal led to the Tesla stop-sale order and it’s unclear how the company intends to handle the matter. Of course, this news hasn’t been good for TSLA stock, which has been falling since markets opened today.
Tesla is no stranger to problems with its vehicles. But given the already long list of problems with the Cybertruck, this development is hardly encouraging.
Breaking Down the Tesla Stop-Sale Order
As of this writing, Tesla has not issued a statement on the stop-sale order. Since the company doesn’t have a PR department, it can difficult be to ascertain the extent of problems like this. However, it seems that this problem has been ongoing for several days. According to autoevolution, many buyers awaiting their Cybertruck deliveries recently received notice from Tesla of an “unexpected delay” with no specific details provided:
“The stop sales order has been reportedly issued after discovering a design problem with the accelerator pedal. This may have been made worse by the floor-mounted accelerator pedal. This is unique in the Tesla lineup, all other models featuring a hanging accelerator pedal. The floor-mounted pedal requires the driver to put their entire foot on the pedal instead of just the top of the foot. Pressure must also be applied in a forward-upward direction.”
On April 13, a popular X (formerly Twitter) account posted that Tesla had suspended Cybertruck deliveries for one week, citing the same problems with the pedal. But since that report isn’t coming from CEO Elon Musk or an official Tesla account, it’s hard to say what the actual timeline for addressing this problem will be.
What we do know is that Tesla is currently facing some hardship. The company recently laid off 10%of its workforce due to declining sales. Additionally, Wall Street sentiment toward TSLA stock has been trending downward. Last week, analysts at Wells Fargo and Citi both issued bearish ratings. On TipRanks, TSLA currently has a consensus hold rating.
The Road Ahead
Earlier this year, experts speculated that the Cybertruck wouldn’t be a growth driver for TSLA stock. A few months later, it’s safe to say these predictions are proving correct. The company has struggled amid an already challenging EV market and rising competition both at home and abroad. Now, the Cybertruck is bringing new challenges that may further compromise consumer trust in Tesla vehicles.
Until Tesla issues a statement on the stop-sale order, it will be hard to guess how this matter will turn out. But at a time when it simply needs to sell more EVs, this news seems to only be making things worse.
On the date of publication, Samuel O’Brient did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
