New Tesla Cybertruck aero wheel covers in odd setup spark rumours of solution to tyre-munching Cyber wheel caps ^↺

It was only a few short weeks ago that we reported on the Tesla Cybertruck's aero wheel covers chewing up tyre sidewalls and creating a headache for Tesla. In response to the issue, Tesla stopped shipping the Cyber wheel covers on Cybertrucks headed to customers and quietly listed the item as “out of stock” on the accessory store.  

A recent video posted by Nic Cruz Patane on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), shows a Tesla Cybertruck with what appears to be an odd combination of the base aero wheel covers fitted to what look to be the 20-inch rims — as indicated by the Goodyear tyres — on the Foundation Series Cybertruck. This could be an indication that Tesla may be using the base aero wheel covers as a stopgap solution to the flawed Cyber wheel covers.

While it's unclear whether this is the case, it would make sense for Tesla to use the smaller wheel covers, at least as an interim solution. The smaller aero wheel covers sit comfortably inside the profile of the wheel, instead of overlapping part of the tyre sidewall, like the “premium” Cyber wheel covers did.

On the previous design, it was the tyre overlap that seems to have caused the tyre sidewall damage, so keeping the wheel cover within the border of the alloy wheels should resolve the issue, even if that does come at the cost of aesthetics. In combination with the special Goodyear tyres Tesla co-designed for the Cybertruck, the base aero covers seem out of place, since the base covers lack the tabs along the edges that match the recesses in the tyres.

It's unclear whether Tesla will ship the smaller base wheel covers as a stopgap solution to the flawed Cyber wheel covers, but the Cybertruck spotted by Patane could be an indication that Tesla is at least mulling it over.

Read about the development of the Tesla Cybertruck in Walter Isaacson's biography of Elon Musk on Amazon, or buy a Hot Wheels id 1:64-scale Cybertruck DieCast model on Amazon.