Pedestrian safety concerns mean it will be difficult to get the Cybertruck on European and Chinese roads
15 January 2024 at 19:01
Tesla will have a hard time certifying the Cybertruck for use on China’s roads, as its CEO, Elon Musk, acknowledged on his platform, formerly known as Twitter. Although the company may still offer the truck in the Chinese market, one of the largest and most important markets in terms of volume, regulatory hurdles appear to be hindering its sale there.
Elon Musk described the process of making the Cybertruck road legal in China as “very difficult” in response to a post by X user @ray4tesla, who was sharing a rumor suggesting the automaker would display the new electric pickup truck in its stores in China. China.
“Many will be stoked to see the real thing,” he predicted. In fact, the truck’s unique design has generated so much interest, Musk seemed to be in favor of the idea, hinting that the company “could send some prototypes out to show.”
Read: Tesla Cybertruck’s sharp edges and rigid body raise pedestrian safety concerns
However, his post notes that the Cybertruck’s unique design could also present challenges in selling it in the huge Chinese market, where Tesla is locked in a heated battle with BYD for control of sales. While the American company maintained its position as the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer by volume in 2023, BYD’s sales surpassed Tesla in the last quarter of the year. Many experts expect the Chinese automaker to take the title of the world’s largest electric car manufacturer in 2024.
While Musk did not address why it would be difficult to make the Cybertruck road legal in China, Tesla acknowledged that pedestrian safety regulations could make it difficult for the truck to qualify for road use in Europe.
Even American safety experts, such as Adrian Lund, former president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), are concerned about the risks the truck poses to pedestrians. He admitted he had not seen the crash test data, but said he was concerned about the truck’s so-called exterior structure.
“The big problem is that if they make the skin of the car very tough with thick stainless steel, when people hit their heads on it, it will cause them more damage,” Lund said.
Others expressed concerns about the car’s crumple zones, weight, strength and sharp angles. The European Transportation Safety Board, a nonprofit that advocates for road safety, issued a statement saying it hopes Tesla will not offer the Cybertruck in Europe because of the risks it says the truck poses to pedestrians and cyclists.
While it is still unclear how many markets Tesla will be able to sell its new electric truck in, it has admitted that there will be major difficulties in two of its large markets. That might limit sales, but given how difficult it is to produce a stainless steel truck, Tesla might not mind.
