"When Cybertruck competes with other cars, Tesla will win."
When the new car was released, Tesla CEO Elon Musk showed high confidence in the safety of the Cybertruck, but as orders for this sci-fi electric truck grew, the model also sparked widespread controversy among the public and safety experts.
Several foreign media outlets, including Reuters, have reported that although Musk is confident in the safety of Cybertruck, security experts have raised serious safety concerns about its design.
Tesla showcased slow motion collision test videos during the Cybertruck delivery event on November 30th. The video shows that in a frontal collision at a speed of about 56 kilometers per hour, Cybertruck did not experience front collapse like most modern vehicles, which sparked a series of discussions about vehicle design and safety.
Adrian Lund, former chairman of the American Highway Safety Insurance Association (IIHS), said in an interview with Reuters, "If they really use thick stainless steel to make the car body very sturdy, then when people's heads hit the car body, it will cause greater damage." This concern mainly stems from the Cybertruck's hard shell and limited collision zone design.
Musk expressed on social media that he is "very confident" that Cybertruck will be safer for passengers and pedestrians than other trucks. Tesla emphasizes that the structural design of Cybertruck can absorb impacts during collisions. However, some security experts are skeptical of this statement
George Washington University automotive safety professor Samer Hamdar expressed concern about the limited collision zone built into Cybertruck, stating that "there may be a damping mechanism that would limit the issue of limited collision zones." However, he also emphasized that such compensation measures may not fully address safety issues.
The new car body is made of cold-rolled stainless steel with a thickness of 1.8mm, and due to the material's hardness and strong resistance to stamping deformation, Cybertruck even has a certain bulletproof ability. At the same time, it also makes it almost impossible for the material to form various curved surfaces stably.
The material characteristics constitute the design features of Cybertruck, especially its engine hood height above 40 inches (approximately 101.6 centimeters), which increases the risk of fatal injury to pedestrians.
According to IIHS research, vehicles with hood heights exceeding approximately 101.6 centimeters have a 45% higher likelihood of death in pedestrian impact tests. Although the front-end design of Cybertruck is more inclined, IIHS research has found that once the height of the vehicle's hood exceeds 40 inches, relying solely on contour modification has limited impact on pedestrian survival.
In addition, Cybertruck's market prospects in Europe are also being challenged. The safety requirements in Europe stipulate that all external protrusions must have at least 3.2 millimeters of rounded corners to prevent serious injury from pedestrian impacts. Lars Moravy, Vice President of Tesla Vehicle Engineering, claimed that this requirement cannot be achieved through Tesla's production methods.
Although Musk's vision is full of optimistic expectations for the future, from a security perspective, the views of professionals are more closely aligned with practical considerations. They pointed out that the safety of both passengers and pedestrians requires more comprehensive data and testing to verify.
Tesla has regularly released its vehicle safety reports, measuring how long it has traveled without accidents, whether it has turned on or off autonomous driving, compared to the average level in the United States. However, these reports were discontinued at the end of 2022, making it more difficult for the outside world to assess the security of Cybertruck.
The conflict between Musk's technological ambitions, future vision, and the adherence of professionals to existing safety standards will clearly escalate over time. However, the current record of holding over 2 million orders seems to indicate that consumers are not so concerned about pedestrian protection.
Musk himself is also very reserved in his statement, and according to his estimate, Tesla may not be able to ramp up production capacity of approximately 250000 Cyberracks per year until 2025. At this rate, it would take 8 years for Tesla to consume only existing orders.