Following Criticism of Cybertruck by Car Safety Organization Founded by Ralph Nader
ONLY A LIMITED number of individuals who pre-ordered Tesla’s long-anticipated Cybertruck have actually received one thus far, with notable figures like Jay Leno seemingly getting preferential treatment. Despite the scarcity of deliveries, ardent supporters of this avant-garde vehicle have already declared it flawless, hailing it as yet another triumph for Elon Musk. They exhibit a touch of defensiveness when confronted with any criticism.
Recently, the Center for Auto Safety took a playful jab at the polarizing truck in a tweet, humorously implying that those driving it might be compensating for insecurities about their “manhood” and were the ones “picked last in gym class.” This non-profit consumer advocacy organization went further to claim that the Cybertruck poses a potential danger to other road users.
Although the tweet did not explicitly elaborate on the specific hazards posed by the truck, some automotive safety experts have raised concerns about its rigid stainless-steel panels potentially causing more significant damage in collisions involving pedestrians, cyclists, and other vehicles. Despite these considerations, the Cybertruck is currently unavailable in the European Union due to regulatory challenges, and Tesla’s vice president has indicated it might never be sold in that market.
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These apprehensions, however, seem to be lost on Musk’s devoted followers on X (formerly Twitter). Many of them seem unaware of the notable history of the Center for Auto Safety, founded in 1970 by activist Ralph Nader, in contributing to recalls of millions of defective vehicles over the past five decades.
In response to the criticism, some Cybertruck defenders dismissed the Center for Auto Safety, questioning its legitimacy. Others touted the truck as the “safest ever,” without providing any specific evidence to support such claims. Notably, neither U.S. safety regulators nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have conducted tests on the Cybertruck to date. Some even accused the non-profit organization of corruption or being influenced by “Big Auto.”
In a peculiar turn of events, a user with the display name “Elon’s My Hero” requested Grok, an AI chatbot developed by Musk’s xAI startup, to compose a lengthy response. The resulting message depicted the author of the Center for Auto Safety tweet as someone with questionable fashion choices and a keyboard-induced fragile ego, concluding that “the only thing more dangerous than a Cybertruck on the road is a person with a keyboard and a fragile ego.”
While this exchange may have marked the first awareness of the Center for Auto Safety for many in the Tesla community, the organization had previously criticized the Cybertruck as the “ugliest truck on earth” and a “net loss for safety and the environment.” Michael Brooks, the executive director of the organization, outlined the reasons they consider the truck to be hazardous, citing issues related to its weight, acceleration, ultra-hard exterior, and Tesla’s “full self-driving” features, which Brooks contends are unsafe and remain under investigation by federal agencies.
