I probably wouldn't buy a truck, but it's at least a possibility that I'd get one for hauling materials and towing around town. If I did, I'd prefer a RWD model just to save a little money. I find the modern obsession with AWD a bit baffling. AWD doesn't help you stop in bad weather, so it feels like an illusory advantage there. RWD can be "interesting" compared to FWD, but modern traction control on an electric drivetrain should make it a non-issue. (In practice, I can abuse the accelerator on my non-truck RWD Teslas pretty badly without any issues with losing traction.)

With the weight of the batteries in back it might be fine. The issue with RWD trucks with traditional drivetrains is the lack of traction owing to all of the weight being over the non-drive wheels. Driving my F-150 in the snow or rain was always dicey because of this.

That being said I wouldn't touch a Tesla with a barge pole for reasons numerous.

Wait until you find out how many gas and diesel powered trucks are RWD!

At least in the U.S. below a certain ~longitude~ latitude it's quite common.

    > neogodless: <snip> At least in the U.S. below a certain longitude is quite common.

I don't see why it would be an issue in most cases. Obviously you'd want AWD for proper off-roading, but for just driving around on streets it should be fine. My EV van is RWD and it's totally fine in everything I've dealt with - including deep snow - and I really only even noticed when trying to parallel park on ice.

This has been a question the Slate team has been trying to answer. They claim the weight distribution being more even front-to-back (batteries offsetting motor, I presume), but I don't know whether I believe them. I was interested in a Slate, but the changes at the company lately (new CEO from McKinsey, rather than an engineer), along with decisions like RWD, and the anemic acceleration (0-60 in 8 seconds) gives me pause.

Collectors item

They told everyone who owned a rivian at that time to stop driving it immediately until the guy could come out and put the wheels back on. That is a recall.

We’ve taken it *outside* the environment

I saw the title of the post, and I knew somebody would have referenced it.

‘We threw the rule book out of the window’

A 23 year old startup.

Into another environment?

> the Simpsons

> I see a lot of them on the road so somebody must be buying them.

Two counterpoints: for all the opinionated criticisms, the cybertruck is at least quite noticeable, and thusly you may think that they are a higher proportion of trucks than they really are.

Also, you're far more likely to see them drive around in certain locales due to the cost, so that may introduce additional biases.

406,000 Civics were recalled

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/honda-...

According to Claude, since 2020, 1.25m+ have been recalled for things that can be summarized as "the wheels might fall off."

1. Tesla Model Y — Nov 2020 (NHTSA 20V-709, ~401 vehicles) Bolts connecting the front upper control arm to the steering knuckle were not properly tightened; the upper control arm could detach from the knuckle.

2. Ram 3500/4500/5500 — May–Nov 2021 (NHTSA 21V-398, FCA campaigns Y26/Y36/Y60, ~447,985 vehicles, MY 2012–2021) Owner's/service manuals listed the wrong lug-nut torque spec. Over-torqueing yielded the wheel studs, which could break and cause wheel separation. Multiple owner complaints described wheels actually coming off, including post-recall "passed" inspections.

3. Tesla Model 3 / Model Y — Oct 2021 (NHTSA 21V-835, ~2,791 vehicles, MY 2019–2021 Model 3 / 2020–2021 Model Y) Front suspension lateral link fasteners not torqued to spec; the lateral link could separate from the subframe.

4. Tesla Model Y — Nov 2021 (NHTSA 21V-912, 826 vehicles, MY 2020–2022) Front and rear suspension knuckles were under-strength (heat-treat defect) and could fracture, allowing suspension links to separate from the knuckle.

5. Toyota bZ4X / Subaru Solterra — June 2022 (NHTSA 22V-446 plus Subaru equivalent, 258 U.S. bZ4X / ~2,700 bZ4X and ~2,600 Solterra globally) Hub bolts could loosen after low-mileage use, particularly with sharp turns or hard braking, causing the wheel to detach. Toyota told owners not to drive the vehicles. Fixed by adding washers, redesigned bolts, and improved wheel surface friction.

6. Toyota Tundra / Tundra Hybrid — June 2022 (NHTSA 22V-445, ~46,000 vehicles, MY 2022) Nuts on the rear axle assembly could loosen; if they came off, the axle subassembly could separate.

7. Ford Bronco / Ranger — April 2023 (NHTSA 23V-283, Ford 23S17, 1,434 vehicles) Driver-side lug nuts on certain trucks built Feb 9–13, 2023 weren't torqued to spec. Ford received at least one field report of a wheel coming off and contacting another vehicle. Owners were told not to drive until inspected.

8. Toyota Camry / Camry Hybrid — June 2023 (NHTSA 23V-432, Toyota 23TA05, 298 vehicles, MY 2023) Lug nuts loose at delivery; wheel could detach. Owners told not to drive.

9. Jeep Grand Cherokee / Grand Cherokee L — Feb 2024 (NHTSA 24V-132, Stellantis 10B, 338,238 vehicles, MY 2021–2023 GC L and 2022–2023 GC) Damaged upper-control-arm pinch bolts could break, causing the UCA ball joint to separate from the steering knuckle and the wheel to fall outboard. Stellantis described it to Consumer Reports as the wheel "comes loose" rather than fully separating.

10. Ford Bronco / Ranger — Oct 2024 (Ford 25S45, 2,416 vehicles, MY 2024–2025 Bronco / 2024 Ranger built June–Sept 2024) Front upper control arm ball-joint nut missing or improperly tightened; UCA could detach from the knuckle. Triggered by a warranty report on a 2024 Ranger that lost the UCA at 291 miles.

11. Honda Civic accessory wheels — Nov 2025 (NHTSA 25E-071, Honda MMZ, 406,290 vehicles, MY 2016–2021 with 18″ alloy accessory wheels) Wheels from a Honda Access Europe supplier in Italy were shipped without the steel lug-seat inserts pressed in. Without the insert the aluminum deforms, lug nuts loosen, and the wheel can detach.