Tesla Cybertruck owner reports low running costs but ongoing quality concerns after one year

A Cybertruck owner shares a mixed one-year ownership experience, highlighting low running costs yet persistent quality issues and repair demands, amid rising prices and ongoing reliability tensions.

A year after taking delivery of the Tesla Cybertruck he reserved on the night of its unveiling, one owner says the truck has proved both frustrating and surprisingly cheap to run. Matt Danadel’s review, shared after 15,000 miles, captures the split reaction the model continues to provoke: the design still draws attention, but the ownership experience has been shaped by early defects, software updates and lingering questions over Tesla’s execution.

Danadel’s reservations began on day one. He said the vehicle arrived with a scratch on the driver’s door latch and an ill-fitting door panel, while the powered tonneau cover leaked in wet weather. According to his account, Tesla has already seen him back at service centres more than once, yet rain still finds its way in. He also dealt with a fogging front camera enclosure and a windscreen wiper that activated unexpectedly, although those faults were repaired under warranty.

Even so, the running costs have been low. Danadel said charging cost him $680 over the first year, equivalent to about 4.5 cents per mile, versus roughly $3,000 in fuel for a comparable petrol vehicle. He also spent $93.56 on maintenance, covering two tyre rotations and washer fluid. His notes on battery range suggested almost no meaningful degradation, with recent charges returning an average of 324.4 miles against a factory rating of 325 miles.

The Cybertruck’s broader market context has shifted as well. Reporting in March said Tesla lifted the starting price of the new Cybertruck AWD to $69,990 only days after launch, before Motor1 reported another US price increase on 24 August 2026, taking the Dual Motor AWD to $74,990 and the Premium AWD to $84,990. That comes as owners continue to report quality problems, from squeaks that service visits have not cured to early malfunctions after delivery, underlining the tensions between the truck’s futuristic image and its real-world reliability.

For Danadel, though, the positives still outweigh the irritations. He says the truck’s long-distance comfort, air suspension and steer-by-wire steering make it easy to live with once familiar, and he continues to value the performance of his dual-motor version. He also uses Full Self-Driving selectively, paying the monthly fee only when needed, and says it handled rain and heavy traffic better than expected, even if he remains cautious about its limits. When asked if he would buy one again, his answer was emphatic enough to sound like a sales pitch: “I’d put my name down again before the glass hit the stage floor.”