We still haven’t seen the Tesla Cybertruck being put through independent crash testing, but one example of the electric pickup has endured a hefty hit in the US which has given us a look at how it handles impacts.
Images uploaded to a Tesla Cybertruck fan group on Facebook by user Dale Gribble show the stainless steel-bodied pickup shortly after being t-boned.
Its passenger-side doors have completely deformed and intruded into the cabin, causing the airbags to deploy and the glass to break – though rather than shatter, the laminated windows held together as intended.
Though it appears the Cybertruck’s doors performed as designed, it’s not clear whether its battery was impacted by the crash. The damage we can see, however, appears to be enough for the pickup to be written off.
According to Mr Gribble, the Cybertruck’s driver suffered an injury to his arm, though little is known about the occupant or occupants of the Ford Edge SUV which collided with the electric pickup.
Unfortunately, we don’t yet know how the Cybertruck stands up against its competitors directly, as Tesla hasn’t sent its electric pickup for formal crash testing by safety authorities.
When deliveries began in November, it did showcase a brief video of the Cybertruck hitting a concrete wall front-on at 35mph (56.3km/h) – rather than with an overlap at 40mph (64.4km/h), as is the standard in the IIHS’s US crash tests.
