A Tesla Cybertruck owner recently shared his frustrations on TikTok about the vehicle seemingly malfunctioning. He says the tonneau cover won’t close.
The video, posted on April 29 by Jeremy Judkins (@jeremyjudkins2), garnered over 16,500 views and counting, sparking a conversation about the practicality of the “high tech” motorized cover.
Judkins’ video begins with an on-screen caption: “Tesla Cybertruck tonneau cover isn’t closing.”
The TikToker reads a warning that appeared on the Cybertruck’s dashboard display. “Excessive use of tonneau cover detected. Tonneau adjustments may become unavailable,” he reads.
Visibly frustrated, Judkins walks to the back of his Cybertruck. He says, “What? I paid 100 grand for this car, it should open and close when I tell it to.”
He attempts to close the cover by repeatedly pressing the buttons on the back of the truck, but nothing happens. “It’s not working. Imagine needing to go on a road trip and you can’t even close your tonneau cover and your truck is completely packed full of stuff.”
After waiting for five minutes, Judkins attempts to close the tonneau cover again, this time successfully. Back inside his Cybertruck, he reveals why the issue popped up in the first place.
“Just a little backstory for you. I’m not really mad. So I was opening and closing it a lot for a video I was making. Like a skit. So of course, it’s going to overheat—it has motors. And to preserve the longevity of the motors, It doesn’t let you open it and close it until it cools down.”
He further notes, “I think five-minute cooldown time is like perfectly acceptable. But if you’re going on a road trip, you’re packing up your Cybertruck, time is of the essence. Make sure you’re not just opening and closing it for fun. Open it up, pack it, and then close it and go on your way.”
@jeremyjudkins2 My Tesla Cybertruck tonneau cover will not close. #tesla #cybertruck #teslacybertruck ♬ original sound – Jeremy Judkins | Tesla Videos
In the comments section of the video, viewers had a wide variety of responses. One sarcastically remarked, “WHAT they won’t let me overheat my own motor, saving me from a service trip? Unforgivable.”
Another shared his concerns about the lack of an “override” feature, particularly in unexpected weather conditions like rain.
One more commenter suggested changing the display warning message to be more specific, such as “please wait 5 minutes to cool.”
Judkins is well known for his Tesla-related content on TikTok. Previously, he went viral for taking the Cybertruck through an automatic car wash, even though he cautioned others not to do the same.
Another TikToker who took his Cybertruck to a car wash after a beach ride reported subsequent issues with the vehicle’s touchscreen. Despite following the manual’s instructions for a reset, the touchscreen remained unresponsive until he sought assistance from a technician.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Jeremy Judkins via TikTok comment and to Tesla via their email.
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.