The Tesla Cybertruck May Have Found Its True Calling: Target Practice

CNET

6 days ago

Table of Contents The Tesla Cybertruck May Have Found Its True Calling: Target Practice
Few vehicles inspire stronger opinions than the Tesla Cybertruck. Drivers and passersby either love or hate the shiny, sharp-angled truck, many of which have been vandalized and even shot with paintball guns, perhaps as a reaction against Tesla CEO and former Trump Administration staffer Elon Musk. So this one's for you, Cybertruck haters: The U.S. Air Force recently had 33 vehicles -- including two Cybertrucks -- delivered to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, with plans to shoot them up.
Documents first spotted by TWZ show that the Air Force is looking to test the durability of the Cybertruck, given its unique makeup and features, for target-vehicle training test events.
Read more: Every Tesla Cybertruck Recall Since the Vehicle Was Released
Ever since the Cybertruck was announced, Tesla has touted it as difficult to damage. Musk called the vehicle "bulletproof," and said it would survive an apocalypse. In an infamous 2019 launch event, Musk challenged a colleague to throw steel balls at the truck's windows, saying they wouldn't break. They did.
The Cybertruck performed better in later tests. In 2024, Tesla posted a YouTube video where the truck held up to gunfire from a tommy gun, pistol and shotgun.
Because of the Cybertruck's tough outer structure, made of a proprietary stainless steel alloy, there's an expectation that the vehicles could be used by an enemy. Air Force documents note that the truck "does not receive the normal extent of damage expected upon major impact."
And that expectation is backed up by some evidence. In 2024, Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of the Russian Republic of Chechnya posted a video of a Cybertruck with a machine-gun mounted on it, saying it had been sent to the front lines of Russia's war in Ukraine.
The planned military tests will mirror these potential real-world situations in a live-fire test. We don't know exactly what weapons the Air Force plans to turn on the Cybertrucks, but probably everything they've got that can make a dent in them.
Read more: Cybertruck Recall Hits 46K Vehicles Thanks to a Glue Failure
Cybertrucks are just two of the vehicles selected, and other vehicles chosen for testing include pickup trucks, SUVs and sedans. But only the Cybertrucks were called out specifically by model and maker name.