Elon Musk Says, “The Tesla Cybertruck is Apocalypse-Level Safe” After the Truck Received 5-Star Overall Safety Rating from NHTSA

A few hours ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published the results of the Cybertruck crash test and gave the truck an overall 5-star safety rating.

Following this announcement, Tesla employees, from the CEO to the chief Cybertruck engineer, have been celebrating this news.

The official Cybertruck page on X made the announcement, writing…

“Cybertruck achieves 5-Star Overall Safety Rating from NHTSA

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Including the lowest overall probability of injury & lowest chance of rollover of any pickup truck tested by NHTSA.”

Below this post, the Cybertruck X account included a screenshot from the 2025 Tesla Cybertruck NHTSA safety test, which shows that the vehicle has an overall 5-star safety rating.

This is wonderful news for Tesla; however, even more surprisingly, Elon Musk thrilled with this news, remembered long enough that he also runs a car company to post something about the Cybertruck.

Citing the 5-star rating, Musk simply wrote…

“Cybertruck is apocalypse-level safe.”

In response, Tesla fans happily agreed with Musk’s comments that the Cybertruck is a safe vehicle.

A number of Tesla fans even went so far as to say that this should end the conversation surrounding the Cybertruck’s safety.

However, it’s doubtful that the NHTSA’s safety rating will quiet most of the criticisms.

One of the biggest criticisms of the Cybertruck is not that it is unsafe for its occupants but that its sharp stainless steel exterior will harm pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.

So far, we’ve had several Cybertruck run-ins with deer that ended disastrously for the animal.

The Cybertruck’s design is still considered too dangerous for other road users, and that’s why the vehicle cannot be driven legally in Europe.

People who tried to import the vehicle into Europe were forced to add a rubber covering all over the truck’s stainless steel edges before being able to drive it on the roads.

Another criticism when it comes to the Cybertruck’s safety is the truck’s small front crumple zone.

Tesla has said in the past that it has designed the entire front giga casting to act as a crumple zone. This means that even though the Cybertruck’s front end might seem small, the front giga casting can still absorb a lot of energy.

This is likely true; however, according to the NHTSA’s crash test, the frontal collision test was one of the two areas in which the Cybertruck did not score a 5-star rating.

NHTSA defines the Frontal Barrier Star Rating in the following way…

“The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles. The test vehicle crashed into a flat, rigid barrier at 35 mph.”

In this test, the Cybertruck received a 5-star rating for driver-side protection; however, Tesla only received a 4-star rating for passenger-side protection during a front-end collision.

Another area in which Cybertruck managed to score a 4-star rating is the rollover risk.

NHTSA describes the Rollover Resistance Star Rating as…

“The rollover resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.”

In this aspect, the Cybertruck only managed to score a four-star rating; however, this is to be expected, given that the Cybertruck is a large, tall vehicle.

Even with the 4-star rollover risk rating, Cybertruck has the lowest probability of a rollover, at 12.4%, compared to all other trucks.

Overall, besides the passenger-side protection during a front-end collision, the Cybertruck appears to be an all-around safe vehicle for its occupants.

However, there are still some questions about how safe the vehicle is for other road users. Please let me know what you think in the comments. Share your ideas by clicking the “Add new comment” button below. Also, visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.

Image: Courtesy of Tesla, inc.

For more information, check out: Tesla to Bring Back Physical Turn Signal Stalks to the Model 3 as Part of a Mid-Cycle Refresh

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily 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.