You can’t have a new Tesla launch without a few hiccups. The Cybertruck feels about five minutes old, and yet its owners have already faced an incredibly dangerous yet simple throttle pedal issue, frunk lids sharp enough to cut carrots in half, and, in at least one case, a stuck charging plug. TikToker JeremyJudkins2 owns a Cybertruck and recently found that his charging cable wouldn’t release from the port. On the bright side, he was able to find a workaround. On the less bright side, hopefully he won’t need it often, because continued use of it can cause further damage according to Tesla.
To release the charging cable on any Tesla, you simply press a button on the plug’s handle. However, when this owner pressed the button, the plug wouldn’t let go. And if it doesn’t release, the Cybertruck won’t go anywhere. Figuring he could simply stash the disconnected end of the cable in the Cybertruck’s bed, the owner tried to drive away, but the car has safeguards against that. He was stuck and apparently running late, but lucky for us, he still apparently had enough time to make a TikTok video.
Fortunately, Tesla built an emergency workaround, in case this very situation were to happen. To manually disconnect the charger from the port, you have to open the tailgate and find the plastic panel near the left latch, below the taillight. If you gently pry that panel open, there’s a strap inside. Pull it and the port should unlock from the plug. Easy peasy, right?
However, there are few important things to note about using the manual release. According to Tesla, this shouldn’t be done often. “Use the release cable only [Tesla’s emphasis, not ours] in situations where you can not release the charge cable using the usual methods. Frequent use can damage the release cable or charging equipment,” reads a disclaimer on the EV maker’s site. Tesla also warns against doing this while the car is charging or if any high-voltage connectors are exposed, otherwise you could get zapped. “Failure to follow these instructions can result in electric shock and serious injury or damage to the vehicle,” the warning says.
The manual release doesn’t instill a lot of confidence, either. When the owner uses it in this video, he needs to pull with what looks like a lot of force before a loud clunk occurs, and he even wonders if he broke the mechanism as a result. Who knows what sort of damage the override could do to the charging port, if he’ll have connection problems in the future because of it, or if the pull strap will even work the next time he needs it.
Tesla apologists may say that the manufacturer is still very young in the grand scheme of things, so some quality control issues are bound to slip through the cracks. That’s true to an extent, but Tesla’s built and sold more than enough EVs by now to know not to overlook basics like charge ports and, you know, pedals. To see it happen on a six-figure pickup, yet again, is more than a little concerning.
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