Tesla Cybertruck Spotted After Crash Testing: Smashed Windows, Bent Roof

A now-deleted social media video suggests the all-electric pickup went through a ditch rollover test.

Tesla Cybertruck after ditch crash test (Source: Cybertruck Owners Club)

Iulian Dnistran

By: Iulian Dnistran

Sep 8, 2023 at 3:23am ET

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A crashed Tesla Cybertruck prototype was spotted on a car hauler after being subjected to a ditch rollover test, presumably on its way back to a Tesla facility, according to a now-deleted TikTok video that was archived and re-posted on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum by the user Old Spice (embedded at the top of this page).

Initially posted on social media by @ctllogisticsinc, the video reveals that the Austin-based EV brand sent this particular prototype to MGA Research Corporation, seeing how there’s a sticker on the side of the truck that pretty much sums everything up.

Tesla Cybertruck after ditch crash test (Source: Cybertruck Owners Club)

Tesla Cybertruck after rollover ditch crash test (Source: Cybertruck Owners Club)

According to MGA’s website, ditch testing recreates a common rollover situation along a road where a steep embankment can easily trip cars into a roll situation. To recreate this in a controlled environment, MGA’s ditch wall uses hydraulic rams to adjust the wall angle from 35 degrees to 55 degrees, while the angle the car approaches the ditch wall is adjustable from 5 degrees to 20 degrees.

Besides ditch testing, MGA can also perform ramp testing, which consists of propelling half of a vehicle over an adjustable ramp, soil or curb testing, which is performed by placing a vehicle on a cart, and dolly rollover testing, which requires the vehicle to rest upon a cart that is set to 23 degrees and then quickly decelerates, causing the vehicle to continue forward and roll.

Getting back to this particular crashed Cybertruck, the video (and screenshots) show how the top of the roof bent after the impact, how the airbags deployed, and what windows and trim elements were affected.

Both so-called bulletproof rear windows are nowhere to be seen, presumably because they broke on impact, the massive windscreen is cracked but otherwise in one piece, and the curtain airbags are deployed.

Tesla Cybertruck after ditch crash test (Source: Cybertruck Owners Club)

Tesla Cybertruck after rollover ditch crash test (Source: Cybertruck Owners Club)

There’s also a sneak peek at the rear seat and its accompanying display, plus the central armrest with two cup holders, and we can see that the floor is completely flat. Several trim pieces that look like they belong on the wheel arches can be seen thrown in the bed (or Vault, as Tesla likes to call it).

On the same car hauler, there’s another Cybertruck, but it’s covered and the video doesn’t give any indication of what this second pickup might have gone through.

It’s worth noting that the look of a car after a crash doesn’t give a clear indication as to how safe it is. Instead, data from dummies and all sorts of sensors can give the manufacturer and agencies like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration an idea of the injuries that could result after a real-world collision.

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Last month, a Cybertruck prototype was spotted seemingly intact on a car hauler with a handwritten note on one of its windows that said, “Completed Crash Ready.”

As always, we’d like to know what you think about this latest development regarding the upcoming all-electric pickup, so head over to the comments section below to give us your thoughts.

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Source: Cybertruck Owners Club forum

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