Tesla’s new “Cyber Truck”
New Tesla Cyber Truck unveiled
Tesla unveiled its futuristic pickup truck at a promotional event in Los Angeles, but when it came to showing off the vehicle’s durability, things didn’t quite go as planned.
CEO Elon Musk claimed the car was “bulletproof” against a 9mm handgun. But when he got Tesla’s chief designer to throw a metal ball at one of its armored windows, the audible surprise could be heard as the glass smashed — twice.
“Oh my f------ God,” Musk exclaimed when it first happened. “Well, maybe that was a little too hard.”
Design lead Franz Von Holzhausen gave it another shot, this time with another window. Again, the ball cracked the glass pretty badly.
This was after the executive had already taken a sledgehammer to the side of the truck, striking it multiple times without leaving a scratch.
“We threw wrenches, we threw everything even literally the kitchen sink at the glass and it didn’t break. For some weird reason, it broke now,” Musk said, drawing laughs. “I don’t know why. We will fix it in post.”
Tesla pickup truck
It’s not clear whether the windows were supposed to shatter in the way that they did. But it’s apparent that Musk wasn’t expecting it, judging from his reaction.
On Friday, Musk tweeted that the demo had gone off without a hitch in rehearsal:
Were the windows last night planned to be hit with the ball? Or was this spur of the moment
Elon Musk
We threw the same steel ball at the same window several times right before the event & didn’t even scratch the glass!
Known as the “Cybertruck,” the all-electric pickup is Tesla’s sixth vehicle since the company was founded in 2003. The vehicle’s price starts at $39,900.
Tesla pickup truck interior
Tesla pickup truck cargo bed
Tesla rear view