100,000 people join group to mock Tesla Cybertruck

CyberStuck is among the top 2 per cent of forums on Reddit

A 2024 Tesla Cybertruck in Beverly Hills, California (Edmunds via AP)

An online forum dedicated to mocking the Tesla Cybertruck has attracted more than 110,000 members following four recalls of the electric truck.

The r/CyberStuck channel on Reddit is now among the top 2 per cent of sub-Reddits on the site, less than a year after the controversial truck hit the market.

Tesla has not revealed how many Cybertrucks have been shipped to customers, but the most recent recall in April suggests it was less than 4,000 between November 2023 and April 2024 – just 3.5 per cent of the number of r/CyberStuck members.

Describing itself as “the place to post images of Cybercucks stuck in their Cybertrucks”, the community encourages members to share images and videos of Tesla’s newest vehicle breaking down or failing to cope with off-road situations.

“No defending this hideous piece of road garbage,” the forum’s rules state. “The sub is about how awful it is. Go post on a Tesla sub if you want to defend it.”

The most popular post on the sub-Reddit, which has been upvoted more than 34,000 times, shows a “humiliated” Cybertruck owner attempting to put up an awning at a campsite.

“I am convinced that this vehicle was designed by people who have no truck experience, for people who have never owned a truck, so they can do ‘truck things’ they read about on the internet,” the top comment reads.

Other posters criticise the boxy design of the “low polygon truck”, while others claim it is unable to perform tasks to the same level as other off-road vehicles, such as driving on sand or ice.

Created in December 2023, 56-year-old founder Alex Beattie said he did not intend for it to be an attack on electric vehicles, Tesla, or even its CEO Elon Musk.

“It’s not some gut-level push to get everybody to hate the Cybertruck,” Mr Beattie told SFGate. “It’s just general lighthearted mockery. It’s not that there’s any great agenda behind it other than, ‘Haha, look what’s happened now!’”

The Cybertruck has faced several issues in the eight months since its launch, despite Mr Musk’s claims that the stainless steel truck would be “apocalypse-proof”.

Following two years of delays, the vehicle has faced recalls for a faulty windscreen wiper and an accelerator pedal that could come loose and get stuck in the interior trim.