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The Tesla Cybertruck is many things: an electric marvel, a rolling conversation piece, a stainless-steel contradiction in motion, but no amount of torque or futuristic geometry will save you from a blowout in the Montana backcountry.
That’s what Jeff Hart discovered on a quiet day that turned complicated when a sharp object tore through one of his Cybertruck’s low-profile tires, 17 miles from the nearest pavement. The rim was unharmed, the sensor untouched, but the tire itself was toast. It’s the kind of moment that strips down modern motoring to its essentials: rubber, road, and resourcefulness.
Hart detailed his day in a Facebook post that reads like a travel log:
“I had a blowout 17 miles from the main road. I could not get assistance, so I drove to the highway to a tow truck. I put the truck in extract off-road mode, hoping to take some weight off the rear tire. It probably didn’t change anything. I set the hill climb and descent cruise control in Baja mode and went 5 mph. This option is amazing for being on trails and maintaining a constant speed down the mountain.
I needed a tire plug, but I had to destroy the tire to get out. Next week I’ll have a spare and plug kit with a decent air pump.
It was a long day. I had lunch at Blue Mountain Peak in Montana. Then, coming down stab, right through the tread with?
Amazingly, the rim had no damage, and the sensor wasn’t damaged. Never would have guessed that. On my way down for that few-hour drive with Grok’s help, I called around and found that Rama had that size tire. Showed up on the truck at closing, and the guys stayed late and put it on to keep me on the road. That was awesome, and I’m grateful. Mike from Iron Mountain Towing was a Tesla pro who loaded and unloaded the truck.
Took 5 hours from breakdown to driving away from the Missoula Rama truck center. It was not.
It was not a terrible day, and my granddaughter had a quick lunch on the mountain.
Plus, I’m happy to report I was flipped off twice in Missoula and headed out on this trip.
John at Liberty Lake Tesla let me order a tire for tomorrow and a rim, in case I could get this setup in Missoula to work. Appreciate, he said, if you don’t need it, you don’t have to buy it. It would have been a whole day tomorrow, driving to Spokane and back to switch the tire, plus I would have had to leave my truck in the parking lot by this crazy college.
So happy to be climbing into bed after this Long day with my truck outside and my granddaughter safe.”
The moment illustrates more than just a tire failure. It’s a test of Tesla’s ambitious redefinition of what a truck is. The Cybertruck didn’t buckle. It crept down a mountain at five miles per hour using smart suspension geometry and software-tuned descent control.
Extract Mode attempted to reduce the weight on the compromised tire, and Grok, Tesla’s voice assistant, helped Hart locate a new tire on the fly. While the blown sidewall forced Hart to destroy the tire just to get out, the vehicle itself proved capable of controlled, low-speed progress. There were no bent wheels, no shattered sensors, and, remarkably, no panic.
Tesla Cybertruck Specifications and Trim Levels
- Available in RWD Long Range, dual‑motor AWD, and tri‑motor “Cyberbeast” AWD; EPA ranges vary 320–350 mi depending on the variant.
- Its stainless steel exoskeleton, rugged look, and 48V electrical architecture prompted the U.S. Air Force to acquire units for live‑fire testing.
- New RWD Long Range now priced at $69,990 (before tax credit), offering 350‑mile range; observes slower-than-expected deliveries (~50,000 units 2024) vs renewed reservations.
- Critics note polarizing design, limited practicality, safety and regulatory issues, and widely circulated failures, some calling it more “meme car” than industrial workhorse.
What failed him wasn’t technology but tradition. Or more specifically, the lack of it. The absence of a spare tire, an omission not unique to Tesla, turned what could have been a quick roadside fix into a five-hour logistical chain.
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One commenter put it bluntly: “Why in the world does Tesla not include a spare tire is beyond me.” And they’re right to ask. We live in an age of battery preconditioning and predictive range estimation, yet the humble spare has quietly vanished from most new vehicles, sacrificed at the altar of weight savings, aerodynamics, and increasingly, software optimism.
Is It Tesla’s Fault?
To be fair, Hart didn’t blame the truck. Or the tires. “They are obviously street tires,” he noted, “but I was on a manicured gravel road that had Subarus all over it.” And that’s the kicker. This wasn’t some rock-crawling expedition through Utah or Baja. This was a dirt road that wouldn’t trouble a Forester, but a puncture is a puncture, and thin sidewalls don’t negotiate. One Facebook commenter advised upgrading to 37-inch R/T tires after the first 750 miles, sensible advice for any owner planning to venture beyond cell towers.
The bright spots, however, came from people. The crew at Rama’s tire shop in Missoula stayed late to get Hart rolling again. Mike from Iron Mountain Towing showed deep familiarity with the Cybertruck’s quirks, loading and unloading the vehicle without incident. A service advisor at Liberty Lake Tesla offered a flexible solution for a replacement tire without forcing an unnecessary sale. This kind of support, human and analog, is what defines real-world electric ownership far more than kilowatt-hour figures or acceleration times.
Tesla Cybertruck Owner Testimonials Since Release
- An owner carried 2,700 lb in the bed plus 400 lb in frunk; Cybertruck auto‑leveled and suffered almost no range loss, showing real-world capability.
- A user reported a light bar beginning to detach after driving in 114 °F, raising concerns about component bonding in extreme environments.
- Production began in November 2023; multiple recalls followed (e.g., trim panel detachment, inverter faults). As of March 2025, 46,096 units have been recalled.
- Uses ultra‑hard 30× cold‑rolled stainless steel exoskeleton and an integrated 48V electrical system, eschewing paint for ruggedness and weight savings.
Hart’s mention of being “flipped off twice in Missoula” added just the right touch of absurdity to an already cinematic day. The Cybertruck, with its angular body and unapologetic presence, tends to divide the public as much as it does parking spaces. But love it or not, it handled a challenging situation with dignity. Its Baja mode descent control, in particular, deserves praise for allowing Hart to safely descend without losing control or compounding the damage. This is not a small thing when you’re navigating uneven terrain with a compromised tire and a child onboard.
The Cybertruck did exactly what it was supposed to do, minus a spare. It got its occupants down safely, called in the right help, and showed the potential of intelligent off-road assistance when the going gets unpredictable. But it also underscored that for all the software brilliance and stainless swagger, there’s still no substitute for a patch kit, a portable compressor, and maybe an old-fashioned full-size spare. As Hart’s story shows, the line between adventure and inconvenience is often just a thread wide.
Image Sources: Tesla Media Center
Noah Washington is an automotive journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys covering the latest news in the automotive industry and conducting reviews on the latest cars. He has been in the automotive industry since 15 years old and has been featured in prominent automotive news sites. You can reach him on X and LinkedIn for tips and to follow his automotive coverage.
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Source: torquenews.com
