Edmunds.com found out just how expensive. And the truck was parked when the collision occurred

By Gary S. Vasilash

Although you’re likely to find a friend, neighbor, relative or even yourself who has a car-repair horror story, it is unlikely to top the one that the folks at Edmunds.com have with their Telsa Cybertruck.

According to the resource for auto information and available inventory, in July 2024 it bought a Cybertruck Foundation Series for $101,985.

The truck would undergo the Edmunds One-Year Road Test program.

But five months in, last December, the Cybertruck was involved in an accident.

The massive vehicle was parked. A compact sedan crashed into the driver’s side rear wheel and bumper so hard that it broke part of the rear axle.

Edmunds found that it needed to use a Tesla certified body shop in the LA area, where the outlet is based.

Turns out there were just two in a 50-mile radius of LA.

Here comes the tricky part.

One of the shops was in Huntington Beach. It had a one-month waiting lists. Then it indicated there would be six more months before the vehicle could be worked on.

Realize this would mean the vehicle would be towed to the shop, assessed, then towed to somewhere it would collect dust for six months before being towed back.

The second shop in Ontario, California, told Edmunds there was a one-month wait, but that after the inspection was made, it would get to work right away.

An appointment was made. And then delayed by another month.

Still, they took the truck in and after a thorough inspection that cost $1,128, got the repair estimate:

$57,879.89

The single biggest charge would be $9,149 for the rear suspension. The cost for the bed was close, at $8,762.79.

Because the value of the truck at the time were it not in the state it was would be $86,160, it was considered a total loss.

So Edmunds simply sold it to the online auction site Copart.

And got $8,000.

The price of repairs that was on the estimate for the Cybertruck is a few grand under what it would cost to buy a new 2025 Ford F-150 Lariat.