Tesla has shared footage of a Cybertruck crashing head-on into a concrete wall. The impact was recorded from several angles, and shows the very front of the electric pickup crumpling as it slams into the obstacle at 35 mph. The rest of the vehicle appears to hold up well.
Fortunately, there was no one behind the wheel, as this was part of routine testing carried out by the automaker to check the safety of the vehicle.
The footage, which also includes a series of rollover tests, was actually taken in 2023, ahead of the Cybertruck’s official launch in November of the same year. Tesla has just posted the crash-test video on its YouTube channel after the National Highway Transport Safety Administration (NHTSA) this week awarded the Cybertruck an overall 5/5 safety rating.
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Given the unusual design of the Cybertruck, there had been much interest in how it would fare in NHTSA testing. While the rating will of course delight Cybertruck engineers, the NHTSA’s testing doesn’t offer any insight into how a pedestrian would fare in a collision with the angular and weighty pickup, focusing instead on occupant safety.
Notably, the Cybertruck has yet to be tested by the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety), a U.S. organization that conducts its own set of crash tests that can be more rigorous than those carried out by NHTSA. For example, unlike NHTSA, IIHS performs a small overlap protection test, which simulates an impact where the front corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle, or an object like a tree or a utility pole.
The Cybertruck isn’t the first electric pickup to score a perfect rating from the NHTSA, as Ford’s F-150 Lightning also achieved the same accolade.
NHTSA conducts its vehicle safety tests independently through its in-house laboratory, the Vehicle Research and Test Center. The facility is operated by NHTSA personnel who carry out research and vehicle testing to support the agency’s mission of improving road safety.
