A Cybertruck owner is suing Tesla after his brand-new $90,000 vehicle began to fail before he even drove it off the lot, according to a civil complaint obtained by The Independent.
Shane Bracko, a resident of Gore Springs, Mississippi, purchased the Cybertruck in August 2025 from a Tesla showroom in Bartlett, Tennessee. The complaint states that immediately after receiving the vehicle while driving off the dealership’s lot, the electronic display illuminated, indicating a critical air suspension fault. Bracko, 29, stopped and asked the salesman about the issue but was told it was minor, would reset automatically, and that the electric SUV was safe to drive.
However, the problems escalated. Over the next two months, warning systems continued to flag suspension malfunctions, severely limiting Bracko’s use of the vehicle. After multiple unsuccessful attempts to book a service appointment, he brought the Cybertruck back to the dealership in late September 2025. Technicians replaced the malfunctioning air suspension compressor, repaired seals on a leaking tonneau cover panel, and replaced a windshield that had been installed with a crack. Four days later, Bracko picked up the truck, which soon exhibited new glitches, including suspension overheating warnings, excessive vibration in the driver’s side mirror, a broken rear bed closeout panel, and a faulty tonneau cover.
On November 4, 2025, Bracko took the Cybertruck to a different Tesla dealership for further repairs. The broken rear bed closeout panel was replaced, a new windshield was installed, the leaky tonneau cover was fixed again, and various cosmetic repairs were performed. Yet, the vehicle continued to display suspension overheating and system failure notifications intermittently.
Six weeks later, while driving, the same warning lights appeared, and almost simultaneously, the steering failed. Bracko lost control, and the Cybertruck veered off the road, crashing into a drainage ditch. The ditch was so deep that a specialized tow truck was required to winch it out. Bracko filed an insurance claim, and the truck was sent to a third-party repair shop in January 2026. However, he has since been unable to get updates from either the repair shop or Tesla, despite numerous attempts. As of March 5, 2026, Bracko does not have possession of the vehicle but remains financially liable for it, having financed the purchase through JPMorgan.
Bracko claims he has lost confidence in Tesla’s ability to competently repair the Cybertruck and has suffered significant income loss due to lack of reliable transportation. He also fears the recurring suspension issue and other problems could cause another accident. The lawsuit seeks a money judgment, with interest, to be determined by a jury, as well as attorneys’ fees and court costs.
Tesla’s Cybertruck, touted by CEO Elon Musk as the company’s best ever product, has faced numerous recalls and build-quality problems since its November 2023 launch. These include defective accelerator pedals causing runaway acceleration, inadequately glued body panels detaching while driving, excessively bright headlights, windshield wiper motor failures, power steering loss due to overstressed circuit boards, exterior rust after one snowy drive, cracked brake rotors, and faulty drive inverters leading to complete power loss. In one instance, a Cybertruck reportedly stopped working after a car wash. A similar incident occurred in California in 2024, where a new Cybertruck broke down less than a mile after leaving the dealership, going viral on YouTube.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
