The angular design of Tesla’s Cybertruck has safety experts concerned the electric pickup truck’s stiff stainless-steel exoskeleton could hurt pedestrians and cyclists and damage other vehicles on roads in the event of a collision. Six safety professors and officials who viewed videos of crash tests conducted by Tesla on its first new vehicle in nearly four years and shown during a webcast delivery event last week expressed severe concerns to Reuters.
The videos, shared by Tesla on November 30, showed the vehicle’s stiff structure and angular design absorbing impact forces. The experts warned that the Cybertruck’s stiffness could pose severe risks for non-occupants and pointed to the need for comprehensive crash test data before drawing any firm conclusions about occupant safety.
One of the experts, Julia Griswold, director of the University of California, Berkeley’s Safe Transportation Research Center, highlighted that the Cybertruck’s heavyweight and high acceleration could raise questions about its compliance with European safety standards. “The trucks are high-speed and have a hefty weight, which is problematic for non-occupants,” she said. “If it hits another car, the other car is going to be crushed, and the occupants are likely to be injured.”
During the event, CEO Elon Musk conceded that the Cybertruck’s angular design was partly due to the choice of material. The engineering team chose a stainless steel alloy because it’s solid and corrosion-resistant but can still be mass-produced. The angular shape, he said, also minimizes the size of crumple zones, which absorb impact forces and minimize the amount of energy transferred to occupants in a crash.
But the experts remained skeptical about Tesla’s claims. “When you’re looking at these kinds of vehicles, it’s important to see the actual crash test results,” said Samer Hamdar, a safety professor at George Washington University. “That is the only way you can draw any conclusions about the actual performance of a vehicle.”
But Munro says it’s worth noting that Tesla’s design process includes computer simulations, and it’s well known that the company tends to overdesign its cars. He added that the company’s track record is such that it will likely be able to get the Cybertruck through all the standard crash tests without much issue. And, if the results don’t come out well, he says, the company will be compelled to fix it.
