Tesla has recalled almost 4,000 of its Cybertrucks over a potentially hazardous fault with the vehicle’s accelerator pedal.

The recall is the latest in a series of headaches for Elon Musk, the company’s chief executive, and it comes ahead of a key week for the carmaker.

On Tuesday Musk, 52, will update investors on Tesla’s first-quarter results. The company’s $1 trillion stock market value has fallen by nearly half from its 2021 peak amid weakening demand for non-petrol vehicles.

Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, said that the past few months had been a “horror show for investors in the Tesla story. We need to hear the rationale for the cost-cutting, the strategy going forward, product roadmap and an overall vision from Musk. Otherwise many investors might head for the elevators.”

On Monday Tesla said that it would cut more than 14,000 jobs amid slowing demand for its electric cars. The company’s shares have fallen by more than a tenth this week and were down by 0.5 per cent, or 69 cents, at $149.24 in lunchtime trading in New York.

Tesla started deliveries of its Cybertruck electric pick-up vehicle late last year after a two-year delay amid production problems and battery supply constraints. On Wednesday the company notified the American regulator that it planned to recall the vehicles after becoming aware of the accelerator issue on March 31. Its accelerator pedal is at risk of becoming stuck and of causing the car to accelerate dangerously, according to a notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Tesla will recall 3,878 Cybertrucks built between November 13 and April 4, according to the notice. It said it would replace or repair the pedal assembly at no charge and would notify affected owners by post in June.

Earlier in the week, a driver posted a viral Tik Tok video saying that his Cybertruck had accelerated dangerously on its own after the vehicle’s accelerator pad had become stuck in its interior trim. “I was lucky enough, had a clear mind, didn’t panic,” the Tik Tok user said, noting that he could override the acceleration with the car’s brake. “But any time I would lift the brake, it would start accelerating again.”