Tesla Cybertruck Scores Five-Star Crash Rating, but What About Pedestrian Safety?

The Tesla Cybertruck has been a hot topic in terms of safety since the day it was officially unveiled in November 2019. Full of sharp angles and edges and made from a stiff material, such as stainless steel, it made experts question its safety in case of a collision with a pedestrian.

Furthermore, its short and atypically shaped crumple zone, designed to partially absorb the force of the impact in case of a potential crash, was barely there for the Cybertruck.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration put the Cybertruck through a frontal and side crash but also checked its risk of rollover to see if the vehicle really is as dangerous as speculated.

A head-on collision test saw the Cybertruck driving head-first into a flat rigid barrier at 35 mph (56 kph). NHTSA credited the model with a five-star rating for the effects of the impact on the driver and a four-star rating for how the passenger dummies were affected.

The NHTSA report reveals that the driver seat center airbag deployed, but the knee airbags for both driver and passenger did not. Tesla informed the agency that the knee airbags were not designed to deploy for "this specific test configuration."

The side crash test put the Cybertruck against a moving, non-rigid barrier angled at 27 degrees, which crashed into the driver's side door at 38.5 mph (62 mph). The futuristic-looking truck also had to battle the simulation of a side crash into a fixed object at 20 mph (32.1 kph). It was awarded five stars for both and got a four-star rating in the rollover test, resulting in an overall result of five stars.

The EV did not tip over during the test but registered a 12.4% risk of rollover. The NHTSA report does not mention anything about the Crashworthiness Pedestrian Protection Program recently introduced to the Vulnerable Road User (VRU) Safety Program section of the NCAP.

Pedestrian safety rules are stricter in Europe
In Europe, in order to receive individual homologation, the Cybertruck needs its edges rubberized before passing the inspection. This way, the EV's sharp edges do not pose such a big threat to pedestrians in case of a collision.

A Cybertruck was seized in the UK last month and got everyone thinking it was a safety issue that police officers impounded it it for. However, the owner of the vehicle explained that they "were not happy about the insurance."

Tesla conducted its own in-house crash tests before starting the deliveries on November 30, 2023, showing videos of how the EV behaved. Furthermore, it also put the Cybertruck through shooting tests to check just how bulletproof it actually was. The NHTSA verifications are usually carried out after the vehicle is already on the market, but they do not include shooting at cars.

With the top rating recently achieved, the Cybertruck joins the other highly rated Teslas: the Model 3, Model X, and Model S. The latest Model Y has yet to be tested.

However, the pickup truck was the most recalled Tesla-branded vehicle in 2024. It was subject to seven such actions. A jammed accelerator pedal, a failed wiper motor, and the bed trim were the only ones that could not be solved over the air.