Cybertruck Ownership · Weekend Projects
3 Cybertruck Problems I Fixed in One Weekend
Forgetting to plug in, a glass roof that cooks the cabin during a heat wave, and an armrest that turned into a junk drawer. None of them are big problems. All three show up often enough that I finally fixed them, right out of the garage.
The Quick Take
Three small annoyances. All three fixes stayed in the truck.
The extension cable means I don’t have to re-park when I forget to back in, though it’s only for Level 2 charging and I’m still keeping an eye on it. The roof sunshade made a real difference in 104-degree heat and comes out easily for winter. The 3D-printed console tray fits well, as long as you print it in a material that can handle a hot car.
Sponsorship: EVDANCE and Hansshow provided the cable and sunshade shown here, and EVDANCE paid for a placement in the video. Some links in this story are affiliate links, so I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The opinions are mine, and if something disappoints me later, I’ll say so.
Watch The Weekend
3 Cybertruck Problems I Fixed in One Weekend
Charging flexibility, heat mitigation, and organization: three problems that are pretty relatable, and the three things I used to solve them.
01
Forgetting to plug in no longer means re-parking.
If you own an electric car, you know the moment. You’re in bed, about to fall asleep, and you remember you never plugged in. At our house it’s worse than walking downstairs: our wall charger’s cable only reaches one spot, so if the truck isn’t backed in, I have to re-park it first. My wife and I sometimes debate who has to go do it. I’m pretty sure I’ve lost every one of those debates.
The fix is an EVDANCE extension cable for the charging cable. It came in a heavy-duty carrying case, with water-seal caps on both ends, and it’s noticeably thicker than the Tesla cable. The handle has the same button as the original, and it opened the charge port on the first try. It locked in, the light went green, and the truck started charging without me moving it.
25% offwith my codeEVDANCE 21 ft NACS extension cable · Save 25% with WEEKENDGOLD25One important limit: it’s for Level 2 charging and below, not Supercharging. Beyond the driveway, I can see it helping at an Airbnb or hotel, or in winter when snow keeps you from getting close enough. This was its first real use, so I’m keeping an eye on it, checking that the cable and the adapter connection don’t get too hot. So far, I can see myself using it a lot.
02
The glass roof is great until it’s 104 degrees.
We’ve been in a California heat wave this October, with several days over 100 degrees. Fall drinks just don’t hit the same at 105. The biggest source of heat in the Cybertruck is the giant sheet of glass that makes up the roof. It blocks UV pretty well, but you still feel the heat coming off it when you get in on a hot day.
I tried a retractable glass roof sunshade from Hansshow. It has very few parts: two main pieces held together by a few bracket screws. Tabs slide under the trim at the back, retractable tabs lock it in at the front, and thin metal rods along the sides keep it from sagging. Getting it in place took a little adjusting, and that was it. The shade pulls out from the front and the back and meets in the middle, and the fabric matches the interior, so it looks like it came with the truck.
Heat-wave tested · 104 degrees outside, shade closedThe first thing my son said when he got in was how much cooler it was than before we had it. On a 104-degree drive, I didn’t feel that heat radiating down from the roof. When we want the view back, it slides open, and it should come out easily when winter comes and we want all the sun we can get. For now, it’s staying in.
03
The armrest stopped being a junk drawer.
I’ve said before that the truck could use more storage. Options exist, including Tesla’s own console organizer. But I already have a 3D printer, so I printed one instead. I found a Cybertruck-specific center console tray on MakerWorld, Bambu Lab’s model library, and printed it on my Bambu Lab X2D.
It’s a perfect fit, and I can still run my charging wire through it. It sits flush at the top, so the compartments are shallow. There’s a deeper version of the same design if you need more room, and I may print that one if I run out of space.
The most important tip: print it in PETG, not PLA. PLA will warp in a hot car and become useless. I used Bambu’s PETG, which is the same material I used for the door-handle trays I printed earlier. Those have been in the truck since I installed them, through this whole heat wave, and they haven’t bowed or warped.
What The Weekend Told Me
What worked, and what to know first.
What worked
- The extension cable charged the truck without re-parking, on the first try
- The roof shade made a noticeable difference in a 104-degree heat wave
- Installing the shade took a few screws and a little adjusting
- The printed console tray fits well and leaves room for a charging cable
What to know first
- The cable is for Level 2 and below, not Supercharging, and it’s still early
- A closed shade also blocks the glass-roof view, so I’ll open it up in winter
- 3D printing needs a printer, and PETG rather than PLA for anything in a hot car
- The flush console tray is shallow; a deeper version of the design exists
Gear From This Weekend
What I used, with the codes.
These are affiliate links. EVDANCE and Hansshow provided these products, and EVDANCE paid for a placement in the video.
25% offwith my code
EVDANCE 21 ft NACS Extension Cable
For Level 2 charging and below, not Supercharging. Save 25% with code WEEKENDGOLD25.
Shop the extension cable20% offwith my code
Hansshow Retractable Glass Roof Sunshade
Save 20% with code WeekendGold20. The same code works on their other Tesla accessories.
Shop the sunshadeKeep Exploring
