The Tesla Cybertruck is probably the most controversial vehicle launched in a decade due to its overall absurdity, and now that absurdity is causing wheel covers to inflict significant damage to this nearly 7,000 pound truck’s custom tires. This electric truck’s aero wheel covers have an unusual design that actually extends beyond the alloy wheel and onto the sidewall of the tires, the part of the tire that needs to flex to absorb impacts, as well as flexing every single time the tire rotates.
The YouTube channel for Tesla upgrade and accessory brand T Sportline investigated this phenomenon, and found significant sidewall damage on the tires of a Cybertruck that only has “a couple thousand miles on it” according to the host Brian Reese. Most of the aero wheel cover is made of plastic, but the ends of the spokes that extend over the tire sidewall are made of a rubberized material, so at least it’s not a hard plastic part that’s scraping away at the sidewall — but even rubberizing these wheel cover extensions doesn’t prevent damage. It’s honestly shocking that this defect was not identified in pre-production vehicle testing, but Tesla is known to utilize its customers as beta testers.
Every single time a tire rotates, the sidewalls deform and flex when the weight of a vehicle is put onto the tire, and sidewalls deform even moreso when absorbing the impact caused when a tire makes contact with something on the road. This goes for every car on the road, and tires are designed for this flexion. Tires are not designed to have rubberized spokes secured only millimeters from the sidewall that chip away the rubber with every rotation of the wheel.
Reese explains that these aero wheel covers are currently on backorder, so they are likely to be redesigned soon due to this potentially dangerous design blunder. Reese recommends current Cybertruck owners remove their aero wheel covers to stop tire damage from worsening.
As Reese points out, the sidewall is not the most important part of the tire, since tires are designed with metal cords inside to protect the integral inner liner of the tire from damage. Whether you’re audacious enough to own a Cybertruck, or you’re too sane for that and you drive a normal car, cosmetic damage to the sidewall of your tire isn’t cause for immediate concern. But if your sidewalls are damaged enough that you can see the metal cords inside of the tire, then you need to get new tires. If your tires are damaged to a concerning degree, take your car to a tire shop for inspection.