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A Tesla Cybertruck owner driving on the 110 highway in California recently found himself as the cause of an accident.
According to the video footage, the Cybertruck owner was navigating the 110 highway when he decided to change lanes and position himself behind a Chevy Silverado pickup.
The traffic was going smoothly; however, a car cut in front of the Silverado, forcing the Chevy driver to slam on the brakes.
The Cybertruck driver, who goes by the user name jcktrb on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum, was unaware that the Silverado had stopped and proceeded to rear-end the gas pickup truck.
Jcktrb shared the video of the accident, which was captured by his truck's autopilot camera, on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum. The footage leaves no room for doubt the Cybertruck driver was solely responsible for the crash.
Jcktrb wrote on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum, explaining the incident, “My Cybertruck rear-ended a Silverado. No Collision Avoidance Assist intervened.”
Jcktrb added, “The Silverado has more visible damage, but the Cybertruck will probably cost much more to repair. Start at the 50-second mark in the video to see the crash unless you enjoy watching 110 traffic. Unfortunately, there is no alert from collision avoidance, and neither is there audible or emergency braking. Maybe my speed was too low?”
Below the short description of the accident, jcktrb shared a picture showing its aftermath. If you go to the Cybertruck Owners Club forum, you can see that the Silverado was in much worse shape than the Cybertruck following the collision.
The Chevy Silverado’s rear bumper is deformed, body damage extends to the bed, the taillights are shattered, and the black plastic trim at the back is completely out of shape.
On the other hand, looking at the Cybertruck, you can see the front of the Cybertruck is barely scratched; there is a small scuff to the front plastic piece where the Cybertruck made contact; besides that, the Cybertruck is in perfect condition.
Jcktrb’s accident is the second such case involving a Cybertruck and an internal combustion pickup truck. A previous accident involving a Ram pickup truck rear-ending a Tesla Cybertruck ended with the Ram totaled and the Cybertruck with a Ram-shaped imprint on the stainless steel.
There have also been other noteworthy Cybertruck accidents, including one in which a Cybertruck driving 75 mph on a highway ran over a deer, an incident involving a Cybertruck and Semi trailer, a Cybertruck taking a chunk out of a Nissan Sentra, and two brake failure incidents involving a Cybertruck accelerating straight into a house and a Cybertruck rear-ending a Model 3.
In most of these accidents, the theme is that a Cybertruck gets into an accident with another vehicle, the other vehicle is totaled, while the Cybertruck is barely scratched.
That said, there have also been a couple of accidents in which a Cybertruck was surprisingly severely damaged while the other vehicle stayed in better condition. One notable example of this accident occurred between a Cybertruck and a Model 3.
It has been interesting to see how the Cybertruck’s rugged stainless steel exterior holds up in real-life situations. However, going back to the recent Silverado/Cybertruck collision, one thing to note here is the issue of reparability.
As already mentioned, the Cybertruck has performed exceptionally well in accidents. However, a surprising phenomenon is how expensive the truck has been to repair despite seemingly small damage.
A Cybertruck driver who was involved in a minor fender bender revealed that Tesla told him his truck would cost $13,304 and take six weeks to repair.
Another Cybertruck owner who rented his Cybertruck on Turo revealed that his truck returned to him with moderate damage. Now, the person who rented the Cybertruck has to pay $28,000 out of pocket to repair the all-electric truck.
In the Silverado vs. Cybertruck case, you can see the Silverado has been damaged much more than the Cybertruck; however, as the owner, jcktrb, states, it’ll likely cost much more to repair the Cybertruck than the Silverado.
There is some theory in the Tesla community that the Cybertruck’s high repair costs have to do with the truck’s stainless steel exoskeleton and unconventional construction process.
Having said that, as of now, there’s no conclusive evidence pointing to why Cybertruck repair costs are prohibitively high. However, we’ll be sure to keep you posted as more information becomes available.
Until then, visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.
So, what do you think? Are you surprised with how little the Cybertruck was damaged when colliding with a Chevy Silverado? Also, what do you think is behind the high Cybertruck repair costs? Let us know your thoughts in the comments by clicking the red “Add new comment” button below.
Image: Courtesy of Chevy's official page & Screenshot from MKBHD’s YouTube channel
For more information, check out: Automotive YouTuber: I Canceled My Tesla Cybertruck Order After I Saw Prices Falling Below MSRP, I’ll Buy One for $50,000 in 1 to 2 Years
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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