The Tesla Cybertruck has been the focus of a great deal of attention and speculation regarding its unique construction that relies on large cast sections and stainless steel body panels. An example of the Cybertruck’s unique construction has now been demonstrated in an unfortunate incident on public streets, details of which have been confirmed by the California Highway Patrol to The Autopian. This collision is the first instance of the truck in a real-world collision; here’s the info we have so far, including a report on the incident from California Highway Patrol, and now, some images of the damaged area of the truck.
The crash was reported to the public by boddhya on Reddit, with photos shared to the r/Cybertruck group. The photographs show a Cybertruck blocking one lane, facing off the road with its curtain airbags having been deployed. The second photo of the incident shows a four-door Toyota with significant front-end damage, particularly to the driver’s side fender, with the front bumper hanging from the vehicle.
According to a member of the California Highway Patrol I spoke with, the incident occurred at 2:23 PM (POST) on Skyline Boulevard, roughly half a mile from the intersection with Page Mill Road. Authorities were notified of the crash by an automatic text message after the collision, with a Midpeninsula Ranger attending the scene of the incident. Further reports from police indicated that the incident actually occurred at 2:05 PM, local time.
Sounds like the first Cybertruck accident has been seen 😢
Said it was a head on collision in CA
Seen here: https://t.co/v8wVD3FkH9 pic.twitter.com/BJ7PyKvT6q
— Greggertruck (@greggertruck) December 29, 2023
In an initial call with CHP, The Autopian was told that only one person suffered minor injuries in the collision. The Cybertruck was reportedly registered with Texas plates to a Palo Alto address, while the 2009 Toyota four-door was registered locally.
Subsequently, a report from CHP has become available to The Autopian highlighting more details of the incident. Notably, it states the driver of the Cybertruck shares the name of a Tesla engineer based in San Francisco, and was the injured party in the matter. Along with the Texas plates and Palo Alto registration of the Cybertruck, it suggests, but does not confirm, that it may have been a Tesla company vehicle. The two passengers of the Cybertruck were unharmed, as was the driver of the 2009 Toyota Corolla involved in the crash.
The report states the incident occurred in wet and cloudy conditions. As per the report:
“On December 28, 2023 at approximately 2:05 pm, CHP Redwood City units were dispatched to a two-vehicle crash on SR-35 (Skyline Boulevard), south of Page Mill Road. Our preliminary investigation indicates a Toyota Corolla was traveling south on SR-35 southbound, south of Page Mill Road, at an unknown speed, when the driver, for unknown reasons, turned to the right and subsequently struck a dirt embankment on the right shoulder. The Toyota then re-entered the roadway, crossed over the double yellow lines into the northbound lane, and crashed into a Tesla Cybertruck traveling north on SR-35 northbound.”
The driver of the Tesla had a “Complaint of Pain” according to the report, but it was classed as “a suspected minor injury” and they declined medical transport. Nobody else was injured in the matter, as per the report. Further details include that it did not appear that the Cybertruck was being driven under autonomous mode at the time, and that an investigation is ongoing.
Notably, as raised by Louis Botelho, the latest Tesla over-the-air update includes a feature which automatically notifies 911 in the event of a collision which triggers the airbags. Thus, the Tesla is perhaps the most likely of the two vehicles to have triggered a call to authorities, versus the older Toyota. Alternatively, the notification could have been made via a cellphone crash detection system, such as are commonly available on iPhones and Android smartphones.
The last OTA Tesla update includes automatic 911 calls. pic.twitter.com/u9x21s4lS9
— Louis Botelho🚘🚀🇺🇦 (@Louisbotelho17) December 29, 2023
It’s difficult at this stage to speculate on the circumstances of the crash, with limited information available. For the Toyota involved, we see plenty of damage to the front-left of the vehicle (I’m assuming it’s totaled). Reddit user boddhya reported the incident as a head-on collision, but the photographs only show the right side of the Cybertruck.
If it was an overlapping head-on collision, the primary damage to the Cybertruck would be on the corresponding front-left side, which isn’t visible from this shot. However, the fact that the airbags were deployed and looking at the damage to the Toyota, it’s clear that the collision was more than a minor fender bender. Regardless, it’s of good credit to both vehicles that nobody was badly injured.
The first real-world Cybertruck crash is of great interest given the rampant speculation around the vehicle’s crash safety. Questions remain about how the hard stainless steel panels would act in a crash, as well as the castings that make up so much of the vehicle’s chassis.
Obviously, the Cybertruck has been designed to pass the relevant safety regulations, but there are still many questions to be answered.
We now have some pictures of the damage to the vehicle. This photo posted to Twitter shows damage to the rear driver’s side of the Cybertruck, with the stainless steel panels buckled inwards and the rear wheel well cladding torn off.
Cybertruck crash
What the photographer, Reddit user boddhya, says:
”Lemme recap. I was headed towards Saratoga.. from Russian Ridge. Saw the truck blocking the right side and also completely blocking the view of the upcoming turnout..and then the officer made us go on the… pic.twitter.com/dkL1DiAiHq
— Marisol Marquez (@marisol_marquez) December 29, 2023
Furthermore, a dashcam video posted to YouTube shows the left side of the Cybertruck. Interestingly, we get a very short glimpse that shows only a small amount of damage, if any, to the front left fender. We can also see that the driver’s side curtain airbag has deployed, and we see damage matching the above Twitter photo to the rear wheel well.
The Autopian has reached out to authorities for more information and will update this article accordingly.
[Editor’s Note: Showing the first instance of a hotly popular car in a crash is a fairly common article on car sites. People are fascinated to see such a desirable and new car already damaged. Still, we wish we had more pics so we could give you more insight, but we’re on it. -DT]
Images: Google Maps, Reddit screenshot, cjysqpb via YouTube screenshot
That CYbeRtrVk driver is about to spend a couple trillion dollars on repairs.
Based on the comments on Tweater, it’s the dream of every aspiring CyberTruk driver to crush a Corolla.
reminds me of every car built before crumple zones were designed in. Just take out the human body parts, rinse the blood out, and put it on the closest BHPH car lot
Wait- phones have auto 911 dialing from impacts?Interesting
I believe when the feature came out Apple had to temporarily disable and debug it because it was calling 911 when people would drop the phone or just toss it somewhere.
I thinkn it is more the cars than the phones.. for instance my car has 911 assist that dials from your bluetooth onnected phone when you have been in a crash.. unless I am mistaken and it is actually the phones
Lewin’s write up, and other comments are a bit unclear. This is NOT a direct Corolla vs Cybertruck accident. Reading the police report, the Corolla first veered right, hitting the dirt embankment. Much of the damage, and a loss of speed, probably happened at that point. It then bounced back into the roadway, and then it hit the Cybertruck. So the Cybertruck absorbed much less energy than the Corolla did.
Not saying it wouldn’t have had less damage anyway, just saying that this wasn’t a direct one-on-one collision.
Running onto an embankment like that can increase speed of the car and not cause real damage. I watched a car do that hon Highway 1 in big sur, up the embankment and then scream towards the cliff where thankfully a barrier section just started. It’s a softer slope there on 35 and when it went up the driver likely over corrected. Accidents like this is why they put a median barrier on 17 going from Santa Cruz to San Jose area.
You can see in the images that there is little damage to the Corolla on the passenger side which would have struck the embankment and is absolutely wrecked on the side it hit the CT.
When are the images going to finish rendering?
The real question is, what caliper of bullet was involved here?
I would also like to know the caliber
Oh man. New meds make brain so stupid. I wish I could say that was a clever pun.
Another case of Beige Bites Back! The Camry became aware of a Cybertruck and decided to immolate itself to get 15 minutes of fame.
Actually more likely a case of the Camry skidding on a wet road due to bald tires and the driver over-correcting. Cue reaction skid and crash.
I know you’re trying to be funny with the beige comment, but what’s funny is you can’t even seem to get the model name right? It’s “beige” to be on a car site and not be able to tell the difference between the two best selling ICE sedans .
Here’s a chill pill, I suggest you take it.
Toyota makes two sedans with names that begin in C. They’re clearly beige enough to not fully register pre-coffee which it was. I goofed and I’ll own up to it. Coin toss which it was and I came up tails this time.
Totally shouldn’t give away the chill pill you needed. “Calm down” is among the worst defensive (and gaslight-y) things to tell someone else to do because you happened to be both wrong and caught.
As I said, I made a mistake and owned up once pointed out.
Being all superior over a minor mistake does in fact merit a chill pill. It could have been handled in a way that was a lot nicer and less open to interpretation. I stand by my comments.
So, does getting into an accident while test driving a prototype count as a workplace injury? Asking for a engineering friend who may want to extend their vacation in Tahoe.
When working for Musk, being crushed by a robot probably doesn’t count as a workplace injury.
It’s more likely a fireable offense.
I got t-boned earlier this year, and my (nearly brand new) Civic Si called 911 automatically. I wasn’t very injured, but it was very confusing to suddenly be talking to someone on the phone while climbing over the center console. I doubt I was very helpful.
Man, I’m really sorry to hear that. Glad you’re still alive and hopefully without any lasting damage to yourself.
Thanks, I was mostly fine. More than anything I came away impressed with the safety features in that car. But I’m still sad for the Si, because it only had about 7500 miles on it…
My beautiful Mercedes had 2600 miles on it when some old fart thought red meant go.
No one was hurt but dealing with my insurance when he had bare minimum coverage must have made him wish he were killed.
This is just down the road from the popular car hangout spot Alice’s Restaurant, and where I sized up my Honda CRZ and another guy’s Honda Beat next to a Cybertruck that was testing near there. I wonder if it was the same vehicle?
You can get anything you want at Alice’s restaurant
Excepting Alice!!!!
I’m still waiting for Officer Obie’s 8×10 colored glossie photographs to load…
And no report whether shovels and rakes and other implements of destruction were used in the cleanup
Kiss my grits!!! Wait, that was called Mel’s Diner in the TV show Alice.
That was Flo, before she was launched into space by a stairlift.
On the point of how stainless steel panels perform in a collision, wouldn’t DeLorean crashes offer some insight? I know there’s a crash test video on YouTube and how the hood goes back is a bit unnerving, but likely more down to the front hinged hood than anything and thus not relevant to a Cybertruck. Idk, it’s 11:30pm and my brain is functioning at lower capacity, but this just springs to mind
Problem with DeLorean is the wrecks usually involved 10,000% more coke, so hard to compare…..
Weyou! weyou! weyou!
The song of the sirens.
Who can afford to snatch one of these poorly thought out monstrosities up in this market?
Most likely the exact type of person I should never trust.
Rich, thoughtless…
Ignore this!
I’ve gotta chase a puppy around.
Before bed.
You dumb dog!?
Woof
If it were a private vehicle, the owner might share what the repair estimate entails. As a company vehicle, it’s probably going to a warehouse where it will be inspected, analyzed and then likely scrapped.
And both cars were considered total losses by the insurance companies…
It was a head-on crash, where the closing speed was probably at least 50mph. That’s going to make pretty much any car uneconomical to repair.
Did you read the quote from the police report? It wasn’t directly head-on at full speed. The Corolla veered off the road, and it’s first impact was with the dirt embankment, it then reentered the road and hit the Cybertruck. I’m sure it was traveling much slower, and already damaged, after hitting the embankment.
I was jesting. 🙂
Aren’t there only, like, a dozen of these in the wild? One crash wipes out nearly 10% of the total number.
Critically Endangered Cybertrucks
1 less of these abominations out in the wild is a good start.
The Tesla was registered in Palo Alto (about 15 miles from Tesla’s Fremont manufacturing facility, but carried Texas plates, where Tesla’s new HQ is located in Austin. I wonder if this is a company car driven by a Tesla employee or officer?
Just realized Tesla also has a big presence in Palo Alto in the old Hewlett-Packard facilities.
Still thinking company car.
> the driver of the Cybertruck shares the name of a Tesla engineer based in San Francisco, and was the injured party in the matter. Along with the Texas plates and Palo Alto registration of the Cybertruck, it suggests, but does not confirm, that it may have been a Tesla company vehicle.
Saw the driver info this AM in the updated version of this post, which occurred sometime after I went to bed last night. Wasn’t in the original post when I made my comments.
Are you even allowed to register a car out of state? If you live in California then you should get license plates in california instead of Texas since you do not live in Texas.
There appears to be a loophole for company owned vehicles. Many fleet vehicles I see around here (SF Bay Area) have out of state plates. Companies like AT&T and Comcast for example.
The only Cybertruck I’ve seen so far (just a few days ago, not far from where this crash occured) had a manufacturer Texas license plate (it say MFR on the side of the plate). I can’t tell from the pictures in this article if the Texas plate is a manufacturer one or not.
not a really a loop hole. if owned by a company this is based somewhere else, and the company owns it, it is reged where the company is based. Take a look at Montana’s loop hole.
The rear end of the CT seems a bit lower than the front. Not as much space above the back tire. Normal or a result of the crash?
Air suspension may have deflated/been compromised
Are there though? Modern crash testing is rigorous af. It’s why we couldn’t get the manual Giulia. If they can catch that, they can catch any weird crash issues with the CT construction
Repairability is a big point of interest
Modern cars are extremely unrepairable, as they are made to take energy from the crash and destroy the vehicle, not the occupants. I don’t trust any narrative that’s going to be bandied about the CT’s cost to repair when getting rear ended in my Honda at 30-ish MPH nearly totaled it.
Valid point but I think the bigger concern is reparability of minor collisions. Those can still be cost prohibitive with regular cars from all the sensors that are packed into them but CT has additional structural repair concerns that might not be present in other vehicles.
How’d that keep us from the manual Giulia? I haven’t heard that reasoning before and I’d be interested to hear more. That manual giulia would likely be in my driveway had we gotten it here
I think that the clutch pedal assembly liked shearing feet off
Hmmm. That’s certainly less than ideal. I had no idea that was the reason!
That is indeed interesting
Where is the other car?
In the header image, there’s a head-on view of the Toyota on the right. That seems to be the only picture available.
It should be safe based on how hard it’s going to beat up on whatever the other car was. What I’m going to want to know is how much it will cost to fix its probably minor damage. Better than a Rivian with a little dent in the back quarter, or worse?
Pretty hard to be worse than the rivian
“It should be safe based on how hard it’s going to beat up on whatever the other car was”
Doesn’t sound very safe to me.
Relative damage is NOT an indicator of safety. The Toyota, for example, is a safe car BECAUSE it’s kind of obliterated – the damage to the front is because the car crumpled in a way that dissipated the force, slowing it enough that the squishy bag of mostly water in the driver’s seat didn’t have to bear the full force of the impact.
If a car doesn’t do anything to dissipate the force, the humans inside will have endure significantly more force and decelerate at a much more rapid rate – something our precious bones will not appreciate.
Being a battering ram to other vehicles also doesn’t make you more safe, it makes them less safe.
“Being a battering ram to other vehicles also doesn’t make you more safe, it makes them less safe”
Which gives *them* that much more reason to git outta muh way when I’m commin’ through. Or else! Which makes me and mine safer which is all that matters.
– lizard brain logic.
Yeah, I remember that lengthy assinine SUV argument from a couple years ago. It’s frightening how many people live their whole lives with that mindset.
Which explains why the injury was in the CyberTurd and not the 15-year-old subcompact. At least there’s a little justice.
Seemingly minor damage may not be so minor in real life and this is not me harping on the CT, I do that enough as it is. 5 years ago some idiot turned into my friend’s Raptor and hit it in about the same spot, it was at a 4-way stop so the speeds were pretty low. Damage did not look that bad superficially and the truck was “repaired” but it never drove right after that, he kept having to bring it back until eventually getting rid of it. Can only assume the wheel took a hit here and it is difficult to tell from the photo what the implications of that may be.
That’s a really good point. And, we don’t yet have any idea how the front & rear castings react to impact forces where the suspension mounting points are. For all we know, several critical mounts have been sheared off or massively cracked. Or, possibly the suspension pieces are designed to buckle instead. We just don’t know yet.
Very much this