Tesla’s stainless steel Cybertruck was involved in its first reported accident after finally hitting the road last month — and it wasn’t pretty for the other car.
A Toyota Corolla was left crumpled after appearing to collide head-on with the fully electric, bomber-like vehicle on Thursday, according to a Reddit post that showed photos of the accident.
The Toyota’s front end was completely demolished, and the sedan’s side airbags deployed as it rested on the side of the road with its hood popped open and a headlight dangling on the floor, one photo shows.
The 17-year-old driver was not hurt, local police told The Post.
The Cybertruck, meanwhile, appeared in perfect condition — though the front end wasn’t clearly visible — as it straddled the yellow line on a two-lane road in Palo Alto, Calif., according to the Reddit post, which was earlier reported on by noti.group.
The California Highway Patrol confirmed the accident to The Post, sharing an accident report that showed the Cybertruck was carrying three people in their 30s at the time of the incident.
The Elon Musk-made SUV wasn’t in self-driving mode, according to the report.
CHP’s units responded to the two-vehicle accident around 2:05 p.m. local time on Thursday.
The Toyota, driven by a 17-year-old at an “unknown speed, …turned to the right and subsequently struck a dirt embankment on the right shoulder,” the report read.
“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,” it added.
The only injury noted was a “suspected minor injury” to the Cybertruck driver, though he declined medical transportation.
Dashcam footage shared to YouTube also showed the accident, which took place on Skyline Boulevard.
A spokesperson for the CHP told The Post: “Our Redwood City Area Office is investigating.”
Representatives for Tesla did not immediately respond to noti.group’s request for comment.
Safety experts have expressed concerns about the damage the Cybertruck’s steel structure and sharp design could cause in a crash since Tesla’s Nov. 30 launch event was live-streamed from its factory in Austin, Texas. The truck’s cold-rolled, stainless-steel body panels were lauded for their ability to absorb impact during an accident.
The front and rear structures have energy-absorbing ribs that help dissipate energy, and during a side impact the skin of the door carried a majority of the crash load, the company said.
Earlier this month, six professors and officials who viewed videos of crash tests conducted by Tesla warned that the electric pickup truck’s stiff exoskeleton could hurt pedestrians and cyclists and damage other vehicles on roads.
“The big problem there is if they really make the skin of the vehicle very stiff by using thick stainless steel, then when people hit their heads on it, it’s going to cause more damage to them,” said Adrian Lund, the former president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), whose vehicle crash tests are an industry standard.
Musk shrugged off warnings, instead touting on social media that he was “highly confident” Cybertruck would be safer than other trucks for both occupants and pedestrians.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
