A new Tesla Cybertruck owner driving 75mph on the highway accidentally hit a deer. Describing the incident, the Cybertruck owner said that his wife, who was next to him, barely felt the collision, and the deer “bounced right off cleanly.”
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As the first mass-market vehicle to come standard with a thick and sharp stainless steel exoskeleton, the Cybertruck raises safety concerns for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.
Due to the vehicle’s design, when Tesla first showed off the Cybertruck prototype in 2019, many people thought it would not be road-legal and that Tesla would have to make major changes before the truck could be sold to the public.
Despite the initial concerns, Tesla retained the Cybertruck’s design for its final version. However, the vehicle’s design is also the reason why the Cybertruck is currently only legal for sale in North America.
European regulations stipulate that vehicle corners need rounded edges to protect vulnerable road users.
Musk has said that next year, Tesla will launch a special Europe- and China-compliant version of the Cybertruck, which will require significant design changes.
The redesigned Cybertruck is for next year and markets outside North America; however, Tesla is still selling the hard-edged, thick stainless steel Cybertruck in the US. This raises the question of whether the Cybertruck is more dangerous for pedestrians and other road users than conventional vehicles.
An unfortunate event involving a Cybertruck and a deer on the highway sheds some light on the possible issues.
Doug shared his story in the comments section of a Cybertruck Owners Club forum discussion pertaining to the repairability of the Cybertruck. The original poster, Zantosh76, shared a picture of his Cybertruck after he accidentally ran into his fence while trying to park his Cybertruck at his house.
Zantosh76 shared pictures showing the damage to his Cybertruck and the chunk taken from the wooden pillars holding up his fence.
The Cybertruck’s sharp corners held onto the wood and sheered off the pillars, simultaneously damaging the stainless steel panel.
Zanthos76 asked the community for ideas about repair and the best way to fix the damage. Surprisingly enough, another person, Doug, who goes by the handle of ZeroCO2 on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum, chimed in, sharing a picture of the recent damage he sustained on his Cybertruck.
However, in Doug’s case, rather than bumping into his fence at low speed, he was involved in a high-speed collision on the highway with a deer. Doug expressed his frustration trying to get Tesla to fix his Cybertruck and wrote, “Hit a deer at 75 mph. Good luck getting Tesla to respond.”
Doug also shared a picture of the Cybertruck showing the accident's aftermath. As you can see, the front end of his Cybertruck has been deformed, and there is now a large opening between his power frunk and front stainless steel side panels.
Naturally, people were interested in the details of the crash and asked Doug further questions, including why the Cybertruck’s emergency braking did not activate and whether the incident was “messy.”
In response, Doug noted that the emergency braking did not activate, but that was actually better because there was a lot of traffic behind him on the highway, and if the truck had suddenly stopped, the Cybertruck would have caused more accidents.
Dough wrote, “The Cybertruck did the right thing. If it had emergency brakes, it would have been a disaster …my wife was like, what was that … She did not even realize we hit a deer. This was on the NYS thruway during rush hour on Friday night, and there was heavy traffic volume.”
Even more surprisingly, for people who inquired whether the accident was messy, Doug responded, “Nope. By the time I was able to pull over, I was a good couple of miles down the highway…the deer bounced right off cleanly.”
Looking at Doug’s Cybertruck, although visibly damaged, the Cybertruck has held up exceedingly well for a vehicle that was just involved in a collision at 75 miles per hour.
This is certainly good for the Cybertruck owner; however, it raises the question of what if it was a pedestrian rather than a deer on the receiving end of the Cybertruck.
One thing to note here is that although the Cybertruck’s stainless steel exoskeleton is sharper and thicker than the body panels of any other vehicle, when a crash happens at high speed, the impact from the panels is quickly overcome by the engine and other hard vehicle parts.
If we agree that it is horrible to be hit with the Cybertruck’s thick stainless steel, it would then mean it’s even worse to be hit by other vehicle parts, including the engine, chassis, and suspension, which are orders of magnitude thicker and stronger than the Cybertruck’s body panels.
Unfortunately, we have yet to find any better means of transport than metal traveling at high speeds, and short of banning all cars, it doesn’t appear that the Cybertruck meaningfully increases injury risk during an accident.
Having said that, we’ll be sure to keep you posted if we receive further information that disproves our conclusion. Until then, visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.
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So, what do you think? Are you surprised to see the damage done to the Cybertruck after a 75mph collision with a deer? Also, do you think the Cybertruck is more dangerous for pedestrians than other vehicles? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below by clicking the red “Add new comment” button.
Image: Screenshot from WhipAddict YouTube channel
For more information, check out: Elon Musk Sends Parting Words After Tesla Designer Turned Competitor Fisker Declares Bankruptcy for the 2nd Time
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.
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If a pedestrian is hit by…
If a pedestrian is hit by ANY vehicle going 75 mph the results are going to be the same--deceased!
Exactly what shape do you…
Exactly what shape do you think would make a difference if you hit something live at 75 mph. It would not make a difference
Yes I have to think that its…
Yes I have to think that its a lot more dangerous for people then we think. I'm a deer hunter and sorry to say deer are a hell of a lot tougher then any human being. That crash would rip a person in half or worse at 75 mph.
I feel that story is highly…
I feel that story is highly embellished, I've hit deer before in buses and rigs and you know it. That little thing would have damage. Just don't think that glorified extremely expensive DeLorean is worth it.
There is not one deer hair…
There is not one deer hair in that picture. I say either her did not hit a deer or he barely grazed it. Deer will lose a ton of hair when hit
Living in the rural, Pacific…
Living in the rural, Pacific Northwest, deer getting hit is an unfortunate reality. When an average car hits a large deer at 75 miles an hour it quite often results in a fatality to not only the deer but a passenger inside. So my two cents is that I would feel more comfortable with how the Cybertruck performed.
On the question of pedestrian safety, when a heavy vehicle hits any pedestrian it’s never good news, and, fortunately is an in frequent event. Having worked TMS for 12 years, the damage done by the grill, headlights, pointed areas of the bumper are all risks to pedestrians in all motor vehicles
Truck is no more dangerous…
Truck is no more dangerous than any other vehicle. As usual there’s the naysayers who know even less about anything mechanical no less a car. Btw, for the deer bouncing off I don’t think so. That truck was covered in blood front to back. It exploded not bounced