The recent explosion involving a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas has raised a lot of questions, mostly who the driver was, and what their intentions were. However, one thing we do know now is that the Cybertruck is far from a safe vehicle.
The list of design flaws in Elon Musk’s angular monstrosity is honestly somewhat impressive, from small glitches like the doors trapping people’s fingers, to more serious issues, like some Teslas literally blowing up. There’s been serious debate as to whether these rolling PS1 graphics should even really be allowed to drive on the roads; the safety measure crumple zones, or lack thereof, is another common criticism that is often used by Cybertruck skeptics. Oh, there is also no guard plate at the front, meaning the car can easily be damaged by something as flimsy as a piece of plastic fencing.
As if people didn’t hate on these Roblox-looking trucks enough already, now the explosion in Las Vegas has given us another thing to worry about. Reports shared online suggest that this infernal four-wheeled death box might have auto-locked during the blast. One individual on X shared a snippet from an ABC News article mentioning the glaring safety flaw.
Others were quick to make jabs at this particularly shocking safety design flaw.
— Clayton (@wolphkaat) January 2, 2025
If your child is stuck in the auto-locked burning cybertruck, you just have to get Musk on the phone and he can approve special unlocking access, like he did for the sheriff
— Cryptohelper (@ZVreeland) January 2, 2025
This doesn’t appear to be the only time one of Musk’s vehicles has locked passengers in during an emergency, either. Towards the end of last year, four passengers were killed in Toronto after a Tesla Model Y crashed into a pillar and burst into flames. One bystander claimed that the vehicle doors may have been at fault as to why the passengers were unable to open their doors and escape the flames.
What we know about the explosion
The Cybertruck was rented through a website, and while police apparently know the identity of the individual who rented the vehicle, they have not yet disclosed this information, as they are waiting to verify the driver’s identity.
However, the explosion itself seemed like an intentional act; it was caused by a combination of fireworks, gas containers, and camping fuel that had been placed in the bed of the vehicle. Police said that the items in the car were detonated by a device that belonged to the driver.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill claimed that the Cybertruck’s body construction resulted in less damage to the building than it could have, as the blast was mostly directed upwards. In this instance, the truck’s bulky and awkward design may have prevented people outside from being hurt, though it seems likely it spelled certain doom for the person inside. Whether that was intentional on the driver’s part or not is still not clear. However, combined with the reports indicating the truck auto-locked do raise serious safety concerns, regardless of the driver’s intent. A car that locks passengers in a burning vehicle should not be allowed on the roads, regardless of what caused the fire.
Published: Jan 2, 2025 12:59 pm