Due to strict safety regulations: Will Tesla’s Cybertruck fail to get EU approval?

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Tesla boss Elon Musk (52) recently reported that the demand for Cybertruck is completely out of control. Production of the brutal electric pickup in the US finally began last year after many delays. Since then, the delivery of the 5.68 meter long super electric vehicle has been completed meticulously; There are already a lot of pre-orders from Europe. However, it is questionable whether the Cybertruck will be able to jump across the pond.

According to a current report by “Automobilwoche”, experts have strong doubts that the monstrous pick-up will receive approval in Europe. “In the USA, the safety of a vehicle is evaluated solely by taking into account the passengers,” Thomas Quernheim, TÜV Rheinland’s global business unit manager for engineering and homologation, explains to the German trade magazine. But in Europe other road users are also taken into account.” For example, care is taken to protect pedestrians’ heads and legs as much as possible in the event of a collision – in America this is not a criterion.

No crumple zones

Accident experts recently warned about the dangers of the Cybertruck. The reason was the publication of the crash test video that Tesla boss Musk showed during a sales presentation. According to Tesla, in a head-on collision at a speed equivalent to 56 km/h (35 mph), the monster truck’s ultra-hard stainless steel body would barely deform. And this is exactly what can become an insurmountable obstacle when it comes to approval. To meet the requirements to protect other road users, modern automobiles have crumple zones to absorb forces in the event of a collision.

But exactly such crumple zones are clearly not foreseen in Tesla’s Cybertruck: the steel beast, weighing around 3.1 tons when empty, hardly gives up even under greater force. “If you get into a fight with other cars, you win,” Musk boasted to potential buyers.

Dangerous outer edges

Moreover, according to expert Quernheim, the certification of the Cybertruck may fail due to the protruding outer edges. According to European law, rounded edges must have a minimum radius of 2.5 millimeters to protect pedestrians or cyclists. Ensuring this is possible with the Cybertruck’s 1.4-millimeter-thick stainless steel sheet is difficult to implement in terms of manufacturing technology.

Fans of the war electric pickup can still hold out hope in this country. According to Quernheim, no statement can be made about the vehicles’ suitability for registration without first examining them in detail. And perhaps the Cybertruck could even benefit from exemptions for light commercial vehicles, where safety standards are lower than for regular cars.

Source: Blick