Another embarrassing recall for a Tesla EV struggling with sales.
Elon Musk’s favorite truck isn’t selling well. Compounding this, Cybertrucks are facing issues that may cause wheels to fall off. Two years after a Cybertruck recall made Tesla’s angular EV a popular joke, the automaker is recalling all models with 18-inch steel wheels sold during that period. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found cracks can form in wheel rotors, separating them from the hub, especially over rough roads.
Rough roads join the list of things Musk’s “apocalypse-ready” vehicle may not handle well at launch—alongside soap, glue, and possibly car washes. Our comprehensive list of Cybertruck recall reasons includes windshield wipers, inverters, tire pressure monitoring systems, backup cameras, and steel panels.
Neither the NTSB nor Tesla reported any wheels coming off, possibly due to a small number on the road. Only 173 Cybertrucks with 18-inch steel wheels were sold between 2024 and 2026. These models include the $71,000 rear-wheel-drive Cybertruck, announced in April 2025 and discontinued in September 2025.
It’s not the total number of Cybertrucks sold, but still far from Musk’s plans to sell a million a year or Tesla’s expectation of 250,000 sales in 2024. Kelley Blue Book estimates 38,965 Cybertrucks were sold in 2024, dropping to 20,237 in 2025—a record-breaking decline in the EV world.
And that decline occurred despite Musk boosting sales through self-dealing. As the Los Angeles Times notes, over 1,300 of the 7,100 Cybertrucks registered in the U.S. in late 2025 were owned by Musk’s other companies, like SpaceX.
In 2026’s first quarter, Cybertruck sales further declined, continuing the pattern between 2024 and 2025. A 48 percent year-on-year drop mirrored Tesla’s overall decline in Germany after Musk supported the extreme right AfD party. Tesla hasn’t yet sold Cybertrucks in Europe.
In summary, Musk’s politics alienate left-wing or moderate consumers in Europe and the U.S., while his problematic truck struggles to gain footing in conservative U.S. states. What’s left for Tesla, heavily reliant on future prospects like Optimus robots and self-driving taxis, remains to be seen.