During his recent appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, Elon Musk confirmed Tesla has walked back plans to make the Cybertruck's glass bulletproof. However, Musk says bulletproof glass which doesn’t roll up & down will be offered as an option.
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The way Tesla has designed it, the Cybertruck is shaping up to be one of if not the most versatile and durable mass-market vehicles in the world.
To drive this point home, Tesla has been testing the vehicle in a variety of challenging situations. The most recent Cybertruck durability test includes the host of the JRE podcast, Joe Rogan shooting an arrow to the side of the Cybertruck at a close range.
This test happened in the middle of a new Joe Rogan Elon Musk interview where the Tesla CEO bet Rogan $1 that the Rogan would not be able to penetrate the Cybertruck’s exoskeleton with his arrow.
The Cybertruck arrow test was a flying success with the vehicle shattering the arrowhead into pieces on impact.
Although exciting, this is the latest in a line of bizarre durability tests that Tesla has been subjecting the all-electric truck. A week prior, Musk revealed that Tesla had emptied the entire drum magazine of a Tommy gun “Al Capone” style to the side of the vehicle.
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Musk said despite unloading around 50 bullets straight to the side of the truck, none of the bullets breached the passenger compartment.
During his latest two-hour and forty-seven-minute interview with Joe Rogan, Musk added that in addition to the Tommy gun, Tesla has also tested the Cybertruck’s exoskeleton with a shotgun and 9mm handgun with both types of weapons failing to penetrate the passenger compartment.
Although some doubt the necessity of producing a truck to these specs, the variety of arrow and gun-related tests leave no doubt that the Cybertruck will be the most durable truck out on the roads.
In addition to the Cybertruck’s exoskeleton strength, Tesla has also been testing the truck's overall durability in a variety of circumstances including an off-road durability test on a 1280-mile dirt road in the Baja Peninsula in Mexico.
Tesla has also taken the Cybertruck into extreme icy conditions up on glaciers in Ice Land, Alaska, and New Zealand. And in the extreme end in the opposite direction, Tesla has also taken the Cybertruck to the searing hot Mojave desert in California.
During this test, the Cbyertruck was unfortunately unable to supercharge in the desert heat and had to be towed after it broke down.
In addition to the extreme conditions, Tesla is also testing the Cybertruck in normal driving conditions. Release candidate Cybertrucks have been spotted testing on highways all over the US where one prototype was spotted pulled over by a cop in California.
Tesla has also taken Cybertruck prototypes to tight parking lots where the vehicle has demonstrated its incredible agility by maneuvering turns efficiently using its 4-wheel steering.
With all these tests, the Cybertruck is shaping up to be an even more impressive vehicle than what Tesla showed off. However, sadly, amongst all the improvements, Tesla appears to have walked back one critical feature that it promised during the unveiling back in 2019.
During the unveiling, Tesla said that the Cybertruck would feature the EV maker’s armored glass which is bulletproof to a 9mm handgun. However, during his latest appearance on the JRE podcast, Musk confirmed that Tesla is no longer planning to make all Cybertrucks bulletproof.
Asked by Rogan whether the Cybertruck’s glass is also bulletproof, Musk replied saying “The glass is optionally bulletproof. If you want, you can make anything bulletproof but, the glass has to be really thick for it to be bulletproof so it can’t go up and down. So if you want fixed glass, it can be bulletproof.”
There have been rumors suggesting that Tesla is no longer planning to make the Cybertruck bulletproof however, Musk’s statement is the first time that the rumors have been confirmed.
This is a bit disappointing for those who were hoping the Cybertruck would be bulletproof through and through however, Musk jokingly suggests to not fret as you can duck behind the bulletproof exoskeleton and escape danger if you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation.
Musk’s statement regarding the Cybertruck’s glass being bulletproof optionally is also interesting as it is not clear whether Tesla will be offering this retrofit from the factory or whether he’s suggesting that Tesla has designed the Cybertruck in a way that it can easily be retrofitted with bulletproof glass by third-party installers.
Whatever the case, the Cybertruck is undoubtedly shaping up to be one of the most exciting vehicles of our generation and we’ll be sure to keep you posted as we learn more about the all-electric truck.
Until then, make sure to visit our site torquenews.com/Tesla regularly for the latest updates.
So what do you think? Disappointed that the Cybertruck will not get bulletproof windows? Do you think that negates the fact that the rest of the vehicle is bulletproof? Also, would you trade being able to roll up and down your windows to make your Cybertruck bulletproof? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Image: Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.
For more information check out: A Tesla Cybertruck Replica Built Entirely Out of Wooden Exoskeleton Hits the Streets
Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.
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