The Tesla Cybertruck’s angular design and rigid construction have led safety experts to fear that in the event of an accident, such a vehicle could seriously injure pedestrians and cyclists, as well as damage other vehicles. Reuters spoke to six professors and security officials who viewed videos of Tesla Cybertruck crash tests.
Tesla demonstrated videos of crash tests live at an event on November 30. The experts said they needed crash test data to reach any final safety conclusions. However, some problems are obvious.
“The big problem is that if they really make the skin of the car very rigid, using thick stainless steel, then when people hit their head on it, it’s going to hurt them even more,” said Adrian Lund, former president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. (IIHS), whose crash tests are the industry standard.
At the same time, Tesla advertised pickup truck designs that absorb shock during a crash. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he is “absolutely confident” the Cybertruck will be safer for passengers and pedestrians than other pickup trucks.
The car is designed with flat long faces, rather sharp corners and a stainless steel body. According to Musk, the material even broke the stamping machine from which the panels are formed, emphasizing the strength of the car. During an unveiling at the Austin plant, Tesla said the cold-rolled stainless steel body panels are designed to absorb shock in a crash. The front and rear structures have energy-absorbing fins to help dissipate energy, and in a side impact, the door skin absorbs most of the impact load, the statement said.
Samer Hamdar, a professor of automotive safety at George Washington University, expressed concern about the limited “crumple zones,” but added that other features could compensate.
According to experts, the design of the pickup is a threat to those who are outside of it.
“If you’re in an accident with another vehicle that has a crumple zone and your car is stiffer, their car is going to crash and your car is going to survive,” said former acting chairman of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, David Friedman.
Julia Griswold, director of the Center for Safe Transportation Research and Education at Berkeley, said she was “alarmed” by the crash test video released by Tesla. She said the pickup truck’s heavy weight and high acceleration “raise alarm bells for those who aren’t in them.”
Tesla itself understands that Cybertruck is not all right in terms of safety for others. The company’s chief engineer recently told TopGear that EU safety regulations aimed at protecting pedestrians by limiting external projections could make sales in Europe more difficult.
We hope Tesla doesn’t bring this car to Europe. A car of this size, power and enormous weight will be fatal for pedestrians and cyclists in a collision,” the European Transport Safety Council said in a statement.
Source: reuters
