Musk unhappy with Cybertruck’s poor quality, calls for Lego-like precision

Enlarge / A Cybertruck prototype, seen in 2022. (credit: Nic Coury/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Elon Musk is not impressed with the build quality of Tesla’s new Cybertruck. On Wednesday, the Tesla CEO told followers on social media that he “just drove the production candidate Cybertruck at Tesla Giga Texas,” as the angular pickup slowly moves from concept to something real people might be able to drive. But workers at the Tesla factory may be in for sleepless nights in the coming weeks and months, judging by a company-wide email first seen by the Cybertruck Owner’s Club.

“Due to the nature of Cybertruck, which is made of bright metal with mostly straight edges, any dimensional variation shows up like a sore thumb,” Musk wrote in the email. Indeed, every image we’ve seen of the Cybertruck thus far—including those posted by Musk to his social media account yesterday—shows shockingly inconsistent build quality, particularly at the front of the vehicle where multiple stainless steel panels meet at angles that remind some of a deli slicer.

(credit: Twitter)

“All parts for this vehicle, whether internal or from suppliers, need to be designed and built to sub 10 micron accuracy. That means all part dimensions need to be to the third decimal place in millimeters and tolerances need to be specified in single digit microns. If Lego and soda cans, which are very low cost, can do this, so can we,” Musk wrote, referring to products that are the result of decades of constant manufacturing improvement.