A lot of words have been shed over the majesty, or lack thereof, of the Tesla Cybertruck. Some say its stainless steel skin is impervious to corrosion and resistant to all but the worst impacts. Others say the truck is poorly built and not nearly as tough as claimed. Now that these vehicles are out in the real world, though, we can all judge for ourselves.
With thousands of Cybertrucks now out on the road, the pointy triangle is ending up in crashes just like any other vehicle. That gives us real, if anecdotal data, on just how tough the vehicle is. The Cybertruck’s thick stainless steel might be tough, but it’s certainly not indestructible.
Forget the endless videos of influencers beating their Cybertrucks with hammers. Instead, let’s start by peeping this curious video that allegedly shows a Cybertruck in a Chinese desert. We’re told the truck has rolled in the sand, and it’s looking much the worse for wear.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9HPUrNPP3j/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D
https://www.instagram.com/p/C9HlE9UxDmt/
Questions about how the truck got to China aside, it’s worth taking a look at the damage. It’s obvious the rollover has significantly damaged the vehicle. The doors are hanging askew, multiple panels have buckled, and much of the trim has been torn from the vehicle. A second video shows us that the roof has been almost entirely destroyed.
The example above is just one example of a damaged Cybertruck, however. With the fleet ever growing, the number of totaled examples is growing, too.
As covered by CarExpert.com.au, another crash from back in May gives us a better look at how those stainless steel panels hold up. In this case, the vehicle was T-boned by a Ford Edge. From what we can see, the doors took the brunt of the damage, buckling inwards as they absorbed energy from the impact. However, notably, the sill remains remarkably straight, suggesting the chassis itself may not have been unreasonably deformed by the crash.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C9GOAYBPN46/
Regardless, the crash was enough to total the vehicle out for insurance purposes. The vehicle was sold by the original owner to YouTube channel BoostedBoiz, with plans to restore the truck to its former glory. The project video gives us a better look at the damage. We see the B-pillar has taken some of the hit, but the sill is otherwise in better shape than you might expect. There’s also some scuffing on the opposite side door, as the crash saw the truck pushed into a stop sign.
The owner, Jerry, explained the intensity of the crash. “I was blessed because it did its job,” said Jerry of the Cybertruck. “I came out with a rug burn here from the airbag firing, really, that’s it.”
Ultimately, the truck was damaged enough to make loading it on a trailer inordinately difficult. The vehicle’s electronic systems were damaged enough that the Cybertruck would not allow itself to be switched into transport mode. The e-brake had to be manually disengaged to allow the vehicle to roll. Similarly, the bent rear steering arm had to be straightened out by hand. The front wheels also had to be wrestled by hand to guide it on the trailer, since the steer-by-wire system was non-functional.
If you want something similar of your own, you might start looking around the usual auction sites. IAAI currently has a 2024 Cybertruck on sale in very poor condition down in Santa Clarita, California. It’s got significant damage on the front and sides, along with what looks like a driveshaft tossed in the bed. Still, if you’re trying to restore one of these, it could be a cheap source for parts.
Overall, Tesla did use some tough stainless steel to manufacture much of the Cybertruck’s body. Regardless, it’s not some bulletproof rock-hard tank like some would have you believe. Indeed, you wouldn’t want it to be anyway. Modern road vehicles use crumple zones to absorb energy in a crash, reducing negative impacts on the passengers inside. The Cybertruck clearly works in the same way, even if its materials are a touch unfamiliar.
Image credits: BoostedBoiz via YouTube screenshot, IAAI
I need to see the results of a front-on collision before I can come to any conclusion.
cYbErJuNkTrUcK=eV tRaSh
Not indestructible and not repairable.
And nothing of value was lost.
Alright, so what is the over/under on how long Tesla keeps making these things?
Looks like the Edge got deflected upwards by the lower sills into the doors and crumbled around the B-pillar like it was a pole, tearing the skin on the back door in the process. Interesting, but I’m not sure what it means, if anything. Is it just a function of relative bumper height in this incident or is the sill designed to deflect energy upward (or under for the 1% of cars left with low bumper heights) to keep it from damaging the battery even though that means more energy goes into the passenger compartment? The difficulty removing the POS from the road afterwards due to electrical failure also further underlines the abject stupidity of steer-by-wire and makes for another anti-environmental mark—the longer it takes to clear a crash, the longer traffic backs up, increasing emissions.
There seems to be a lot of side intrusion on that side impact.
Would help to know the actual impact speed. (did not watch video.)
But that’s how I’d make a judgement. Still not a good look for Elmo…
Based on how these crashed/rolled Cybertrucks look, it looks like the chassis/frame is incredibly strong.. stronger than most other vehicles.
Ah, yes, the old (1950s?) mentality that a tougher vehicle is a safer vehicle. That only works with the area directly around the cab, to prevent the occupants from being crushed. The rest? Best to have it get crumpled. Think of it as protective padding; it absorbs the impact by being “soft”. There is even engineering to make it bend in a specific way. I still get people thinking that an old vehicle saved them in a crash, not taking in account the speed of the crash, where it hit them and if the vehicle was made when safety was being designed into it.
This reminds me of a couple things; People use to dis the Geo Metro for having the engine fall out in a crash. It was designed like that to stop the engine from being push into and crushing the occupant. My mom remembered an accident that her relative had and believed not wearing a seatbelt and being thrown out is what saved her. What her, and others with the same ideas, don’t take in account is how few people survived a crash strong enough to eject them without a seatbelt.
Don’t get me wrong; old vehicles are my favorite, but I’m not stupid about it. (My newest is a small 1986 car and oldest is a big 1953 truck. I keep what safety they do have, including brakes, well maintained. Even then, I’d rather drive to avoid a crash, while my anxiety still worries about unavoidable ones.)
‘The owner, Jerry, explained the intensity of the crash. “I was blessed because it did its job,” said Jerry of the Cybertruck. “I came out with a rug burn here from the airbag firing, really, that’s it.”’
Were you blessed to be in a crash? Any modern car would’ve done the same anyway…
Jesus took the wheel. Unfortunately he never went through driver’s ed.
Jesus took the wheel – it’s just a shame he drank some of his own wine before driving.
Nah, it’s just that the Cybertruck is very different from the Honda Jesus drove but didn’t talk much about. (John 12:49, “I do not speak of my own Accord…”)
Jesus’ blood is wine, so that doesn’t surprise me. It’s not particularly good wine either if I look back at my pre-atheism days.
Also, his meat was pretty dry and flavorless from what I remember.
So maybe he’s like Bender Bending Rodriguez, in that if he’s low on alcohol you need to worry?
I think the guy who got T-boned feels pretty lucky he escaped without major injury after he looked out his window to see a heavy SUV coming straight at him. Give him some credit, that’s a horrible thing to go through.
Nothing is invulnerable if you try hard enough.
Hold my beer…
The Cybertruck is the cocaine of auto journalism. Just a quick bump in the morning and it’s clicks all day! I’m here though, so I endorse this strategy.
I wish it was that easy!
We’ve definitely had some hits with it as a hot button topic, but the audience also gets fatigued quickly if you keep smashing the same thing over and over again.
Can agree 100% Lewin. Does not matter that Elon can be/is a major turd either.
Too much on any car is just too much.
But you could not give me any thing Elon sells. Ever. Just sayin’.
“This might be one of the more questionable decisions I’ve made”
(I thought he was referring to the Crocs, but I digress…)
I thought it was hard enough to get parts for a regular Tesla when those get hit/damaged, so it would seem near impossible to get parts for one of these?
Just call Frigidaire.
And it will be supercharger locked out
I’ve been lucky enough to witness a plated HMMWV get moved into FUBAR status. And that thing was literally suppose to be bulletproof and would only tap 55 on a decent downhill. By a collection of the finest of America’s 20 year olds so amped on Rip-its and dip the Space-Time Continuum was in question. The Law of Inertia doesn’t post bail. The duality of humanity, if man is smart enough to make it, there is always some dude dumb enough to break it
Not a fan of Cybertrucks and they do have real deficiencies, but so far the biggest flaw with them seems to be their drivers.
“Some say its stainless steel skin is impervious to corrosion” — they may say that but it’s hogwash. In fact, the stainless steel panels require much more attention and cleaning to stay corrosion-free than a normal, painted steel car.
That said, it is of course true that stainless is less likely to completely rot away once corrosion has sat in. But impervious to corrosion? My arse.
You should read the piece I linked in that sentence! I do a great deep dive into exactly that!
I read the piece you linked. Good info regarding SS, its limitations, treatments and upkeep. My background is in the pharmaceutical industry, where much of the equipment used in processing is SS. Passivation is what provides protection from corrosion, as you suggest. In the pharma industry, passivation is actively performed as a process in the steps of installing new SS processing equipment. As you might imagine, rust or other metallic contaminants are verboten in pharmaceuticals as they can have disastrous effect. Active passivation is typically performed by exposing SS to a solution of either nitric or citric acid. I don’t know if slathering the SS sheet metal panels of a Tesla truck with a weak solution of nitric or citric acid will improve the corrosion resistance of the SS, and am not suggesting any owner should try that. I am stating that for the SS used in the pharma industry, which typically is a 300 series as in the Tesla truck, it is a requirement and it is very effective for controlling contamination from the many elements contained in SS (it prevents rust and corrosion).
I have. (Previously.)
I thought we’d be seeing an article like this eventually. For all the talk of how durable and strong the stainless steel is, at the end of the day the truck still has to protect its occupants in a crash, which means it has to crumple.
Exactly. What do you prefer: live in a totalled vehicle, or die in one that stays intact? I thought so.
“What do you prefer: live in a totalled vehicle, or die in one that stays intact?”
I need to know how deep I’m in the payments before I can make that choice.
Who would’ve thought John Z. DeLorean would happen again? I didn’t see it coming.
This is completely different. We swapped the coke trafficking entrapment trial for completely voluntary ketamine use and blatant stock manipulation.
Oh, yeah, completely different.
Like night and day.
Or stainless and fiberglass.
Or trained monkeys and Congress.
Or Timbuktu and Australia.
Or something and something.
I’ve now seen enough of these around as the VC bros encamp around the lake near us for the summer, so they’re not startling anymore. Still ugly, but not startling. For a certain subset of polite society, it has become the thing that gets people to look at them. It used to be idling around town in a GT3RS or whatever the latest Ferrari is, but that has become a bit too pedestrian.
AGD – attention getting device
Last week I saw one with a dark green wrap (looked terrible). I was with my adult daughter, who has less than zero interest in cars, and I pointed it out. Her response: “Ew! It looks like a house had a baby with a car!”
I think I saw the same one if you were in Queens, NY (either that or dear god there are 2 of them!). The owner has a Cybertruck and a model X both wrapped in a matte dark green wrap. It’s certainly a choice that was made
This was on I-95 south in Delaware in 4th of July traffic, so could have been; I didn’t see the plates. But yep, matte dark green would describe it.
Damn it could be possible. That’s something like a 3 hour drive away. Lets pretend it’s the same one so there aren’t 2 of them out in the wild.
The only one I’ve seen in the wild (I’m in Chicago) is one owned by a business and wrapped in the business’s “livery” and logo. It’s parked out front most days on a street with a ton of traffic. Regardless of what you think of the car, pretty savy marketing+a nice way to get a company car. I’m sure other businesses have done/will be doing the same thing.
I’ve seen a few here in the greater Tampa Bay area, but I think my current favorite is the one parked outside a kitchen and bath remodeler office, wrapped in their livery. It took the place of a wrapped Transit, which made a lot more sense for that business.
We have one roaming around Dunedin.
I think I’ve seen that one. There are a couple in St. Pete too, including a black-wrapped one that looks less awful. But that liveried one on Kennedy is just…well, an oddly-shaped billboard.
I can’t imagine buying one of these abominations and then wrapping it. Literally the only thing I like about the ones I’ve seen in person is the stainless finish (at least more than 20 feet away so you can’t see all the fingerprints and other blemishes). Wrapping it would eliminate the one and only redeeming feature.
But will those door panels corrode? And will Tesla respond by getting the story taken down from the website? Those are the questions I need answered.
Yeah what happened to that Jeep article?
I got lucky and could read it in my feed reader even after it was taken down.
The word is it should be back up today. They gave Jeep time to respond through the weekend, but it got published early.
Published too early! It’ll be back. 🙂
not what we expect at this site
That’s what I want to know.