Will the Tesla Cybertruck Cost More to Repair? Compare It to a Ford Lightning

With the debut of the Tesla Cybertruck, many were left wondering just how expensive it will be to fix this unique vehicle slathered in unconventional, unpainted stainless steel panels. Looks like we get some of those answers thanks to a leaked price list of parts for the Cybertruck on a related forum. Some parts appear to cost more than you'd expect, while others cost less. We compared the prices of some key Cybertruck parts to the electric version of America's favorite full-size pickup truck, the Ford F-150 Lightning, to see how it all shakes out.

While the initial forum post was discovered byJalopnik, we were able to speak with someone at Tesla and confirm that these are retail Cybertruck parts prices without tax added. So, while the prices listed are not what be what a dealer (Tesla or not) repairing a Cybertruck would pay, it's what an individual might and a good baseline from which to compare with the Lightning. At the same time, we'll caution that your mileage may vary.

There are also other interesting notes about what parts are available to purchase versus what only your Tesla dealer can buy. For example, you can buy the wiper arm and blade assembly "over the counter," while a replacement Goodyear Territory RT tire in 285/65R20 is only available to Tesla. There are also "Restricted" parts like the front trunk fascia assembly, but what that means isn't totally clear. Most likely it means it can be sold only to repair shops rather than individual owners.

How Does It Compare To a More Conventional Electric Pickup Truck?

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We choose to use a 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning to compare the Cybertruck's parts prices with,and used Ford's FordParts.com website to verify equivalent part prices. For example, a windshield for the Cybertruck retails for $1,900, while the Lightning windshield will top out at $698.17, going by its MSRP. If you needed a left-front fender for either truck, the aluminum Ford part will cost you $422.78 while the Tesla's stainless steel fenders are $550 each. Not a huge departure like we saw with the windshield, but more expensive nonetheless. Also keep in mind that the Cybertruck's body panels come finished, no painting required, as they're, well, just stainless steel. Now, whether those panels "match" the others on your Cybertruck is another question—Tesla uses an omnidirectional finish over the "brushed" directional finish that the DeLorean DMC-12 had.

Need a hood—ok, front trunk lid—for either truck? The Lightning hood "panel" ($762.72) and its hinges ($174.75 for the left and $174.97 for the right), latch ($323.33, this is for the 1/14/2023 build and the most expensive one) and lift support ($226.47) to create an assembly will set you back $1,662.24 total (in parts). The Cybertruck's powered front trunk assembly will set you back $1,910.00. Again, not a huge difference, but the Cybertruck assembly is more expensive. You'll need to have the Ford's hood painted, of course, so that could even the difference here.

That Steer-By-Wire Is Going To Cost You An Arm And A Leg

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The most shocking price tag we spotted amongst the leaked Cybertruck parts costs? That for the "front steering actuator," what most would call a steering rack, which runs $3,300. The Ford F-150 Lightning's steering rack is only $2,060 (with a $400 core charge). That is an $840 difference when you account for the $400 core charge, but since you usually get that back, it's more like a $1,240 increase over the Lightning's rack.

There is a critical difference between the Cybertruck's rack and, say, the one in the Lightning: the Tesla unit doesn't have a steering shaft, as it is steer-by-wire. It also—as an interesting aside—looks like the Cybertruck steer-by-wire rack has a redundant motor built into it, to make up for its lack of even an emergency shaft that can clutch in if the electric rack fails (like what Infiniti uses on the Q50). An extra steering motor adds cost.

Massive Wiper? Massive Cost

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Another surprising cost is the wiper blade. The 22-inch blades used by the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning is $24.48 per blade, or $48.96 for the pair. Again, that's the price for a pair of Ford Motorcraft-branded wiper blades. The worst price we've seen on the aftermarket is around $40 each, a Bosch PrimeActive Beam. The Cybertruck's massive singular wiper blade runs $75 from Tesla.

If you need the whole assembly that includes the equally massive arm along with the wiper blade, that setback is $165. The Ford's assembly for pair of arms ($15.30 for the left and $15.37 for the right)andblades will reach into your wallet and only pull out $79.63. That's a huge difference in the cost of parts. But the Tesla's pieces are way cooler, if that counts for anything.

The Biggest Maintenance For An Electric: Tires

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The one place the Cybertruck will probably save you money over the Ford Lightning while going to a dealer? The tires. The Cybertruck's 285/65R20 Goodyear tires will cost $470 apiece from Tesla. We couldn't find the price of a single tire for a Lightning Platinum with its similar 275/50R22 tire, but dealer markup on tires is rather notorious for being much higher than aftermarket.

This is where we decided to check Tire Rack to find out what an aftermarket tire can run you, and the Ford starts to win on cost here. For the Ford Lightning Platinum, the cost is $509.99 per tire at the highest price (a Michelin Defender LTX M/S2). At the low end, that's dragged down to $232.99 (a General Grabber HTS 60) per tire. If we sample the tire size for the Cybertruck and aftermarket tires, we find a $523.99 BFGoodrich HD-Terrain T/A KT at the high end and a $395.99 Hankook Dynapro AT2 Xtreme at the low end, but we should stress that the tires in the size for the Cybertruck are all typically off-road or all-terrain tires, where the Lightning Platinum are all more highway terrain.

If we look at the rest of the Lightning trims, the Pro and the XLT both use a 275/65R18 tires that range from $199.99 (a General Grabber HTS 60) per tire to $373.99 (a Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx) per tire. The Lariat uses a 275/60R20 with prices between $209.99 (General Grabber HTS 60) per tire to as much as $488.02 (a Yokohama Geolandar M/T G003) per tire.

The Tesla Cybertruck Is More Expensive Than Your Standard Truck

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In the grand scheme of things, the Cybertruck is more expensive when it comes to buying its parts. From tens of dollars to thousands, you're likely going to pay more to repair your Tesla over many other pickup trucks, electric or not. That said, there remain several unknowns, including how laborious the panel replacement is, given how Tesla claims the stainless steel panels help out structurally in some way (even though they do not constitute an "exoskeleton" as the carmaker promised back in 2019), and then there's the fact that no Cybertruck panel repair requires paintwork. So there are some potential savings to be had.

Most people who are out buying Tesla's popular and controversial EV pickup are probably not worried about these costs—they're more likely agog over the nothing-else-like-it styling and outrageous performance claims—and, at least among the early adopters spending six figures on these things, they can likely absorb higher repair costs. For everyone else, some of these prices might seem as outlandish as the truck looks, even though when compared to the more conventional Ford, they're not too far out there.