Cybertruck’s Stiff Structure To Hurt Passengers, Pedestrians

The angular design of Tesla's Cybertruck has safety experts concerned that the electric pickup truck's stiff stainless-steel exoskeleton could pose risks to pedestrians and cyclists and potentially damage other vehicles on roads, Akash Sriram and Hyunjoo Jin reported for Reuters.

Tesla touted the structures of the truck that absorb impact during a crash. I Photo: Tesla X

Reuters spoke to six safety professors and officials who viewed videos of crash tests conducted by Tesla on its first new vehicle in nearly four years, shown during a webcast delivery event last week.

Crash test videos that Tesla live-streamed at a November 30 event were heavily discussed on social media.

Experts who spoke to Reuters emphasized the need for crash-test data to reach firm conclusions about safety, David Shepardson and Lisa Baertlein also reported for Reuters.

"The big problem there is if they really make the skin of the vehicle very stiff by using thick stainless steel, then when people hit their heads on it, it's going to cause more damage to them," said Adrian Lund, the former president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), whose vehicle crash tests are an industry standard.

Tesla touted the structures of the truck that absorb impact during a crash.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a social media post on Tuesday that he was "highly confident" Cybertruck would be safer than other trucks for occupants and pedestrians, but he could not produce any evidence to back up his claim.

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