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The Cybertruck, released in late November, is in the spotlight once again after Reddit user “boddhya” uploaded photos of a crash involving the Tesla vehicle and a 2009 Toyota Corolla.
The pictures show that the Corolla, driven by a 17-year-old, suffered significant damage in the collision. The Cybertruck, on the other hand, looks unscathed. Still, the perspective of the photos makes it difficult to discern the full scope of the Cybertruck’s damages. (We can only see one side of the all-wheel-drive model.)
First reported Cybertruck crash
The crash took place on Skyline Boulevard in Palo Alto, California, per The Verge. Mashable reached out to California Highway Patrol and it confirmed the crash. In the collision report sent to Mashable, the crash occurred on Dec. 28, 2023 at around 2:05 p.m. local time.
“Our preliminary investigation indicates a Toyota Corolla was traveling south on SR-35 southbound, south of Page Mill Road, at an unknown speed, when the driver, for unknown reasons, turned to the right and subsequently struck a dirt embankment on the right shoulder,” the report said. “The Toyota then re-entered the roadway, crossed over the double yellow lines into the northbound lane, and crashed into a Tesla Cybertruck traveling north on SR-35 northbound.”
Automative experts have expressed concern over the Cybertruck’s safety issues, according to Reuters. It’s not the driver that’s in danger, pundits say, but pedestrians and other cars.
For example, Samer Hamdar, a George Washington University auto safety professor, voiced apprehension about the Cybertruck’s limited “crumple zones,” which refers to areas of the car that deform in a way that safely absorbs the impact of a crash.
Julia Criswold, director of the University of California, Berkeley’s Safe Transportation Research and Education Center, was also alarmed by the Cybertruck, adding that the heavy weight of the truck and high acceleration “raises red flags” for non-occupants.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, disagrees. “Yes, we are highly confident that Cybertruck will be much safer per mile than other trucks, both for occupants and pedestrians,” Musk said in an X post.
Interestingly, however, in the report sent to Mashable, it’s the Tesla driver that made a “complaint of pain” and sustained “suspected” minor injuries (but the driver declined medical transportation). No other injuries, including the two other Cybertruck occupants and the driver of the significantly damaged Corolla, were reported.
According to the California Highway Patrol, it does not appear that the Cybertruck was operating in autonomous mode. “The investigation into this incident is ongoing,” the report said.
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