After the explosion of a Tesla model in front of a hotel on Wednesday, the Las Vegas sheriff ensures that the Cybertruck helped contain the explosion.
The explosion could have been even more disastrous. Wednesday morning, a Tesla Cybertruck vehicle exploded in front of a hotel owned by Donald Trump, located in Las Vegas. Only the driver of the car died and seven other people were slightly injured. On the social network “never seen anything like this”.
A few hours later, the billionaire says he has proof “that the explosion was caused by large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the back of the rented Cybertruck and was not linked to the vehicle itself”. The car was rented in another state via the Turo platform, which allows rental between individuals and which had already been used to rent the vehicle which drove into the crowd in Louisiana, during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.
“The explosion went through the vehicle”
If the Las Vegas authorities have not yet released their conclusions, the sheriff, McMahill, affirms that the structure of the Cybertruck was “permit to limit the damage”. “Most of the explosion went through the (vehicle) from the top and came out. If you watch the video, you'll see that the glass doors of the Trump hotel weren't even shattered by the explosion.he adds. On the social network “can save lives”.
A question remains, as to the choice of vehicle by the driver if he ordered the explosion. Why choose a potentially more resistant car and thus take the risk of minimizing the explosion, if not in reference to Elon Musk? The explosion also took place in front of a hotel belonging to Donald Trump, who is due to take office at the White House on January 20. Shortly after his victory in November, the former president of the United States announced that he would appoint Elon Musk as minister of “governmental efficiency” alongside Republican businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
However, no official test claims that Tesla's vehicle is more resistant than another. But on its site, the brand assures that the armored glass of the Cybertruck “can withstand the impact of a baseball thrown at 112 km/h or class 4 hailstones”. In 2019, during a test carried out on stage, the windows did not resist the throwing of a pétanque ball. The Cybertruck's exoskeleton, made of stainless steel, would also be “ultra-resistant”thus allowing “reduce dents, damage and corrosion in the long term”. In the video of the explosion in Las Vegas, this exoskeleton is still in place after the explosion.
The Cybertruck remains a separate vehicle, with extraordinary measurements of 5.68 meters in length, 2.4 meters in width and 1.7 meters in height. A true behemoth, it weighs more than 3.1 tonnes empty but manages to go from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.7 seconds. If the Americans received their first deliveries of this model in December 2023, Europeans are not yet ready to take advantage of Tesla's latest addition.
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More a truck than a car
The Cybertruck indeed has sharpened angles on its body and the European Union does not authorize protrusions. “European regulations require a rounding of 3.2 millimeters on the protruding parts. Unfortunately, it is impossible to achieve such a rounding on a 1.4 millimeter stainless steel sheet.explained Lars Moravy, vice president in charge of engineering at Tesla, to Top Gear .
Added to this is the significant tonnage of the Cybertruck, which makes it a heavyweight in the eyes of the European authorities. Tesla would therefore have to approve its pick-up as a C1 class truck or produce a lighter version. Preparatory work would be underway to design a version approved in Europe, which would instead be an electric truck called Odyssey. It remains to be seen its price, with a first Cybertruck, not approved, displayed this summer at 356,950 euros at a dealer in the Netherlands. In the United States, the model is instead sold between 56,000 euros and 91,700 euros, depending on the options.
In December, 700,000 Tesla vehicles, including some Cybertrucks, Model 3s and Model Ys, were recalled due to a warning light problem that made it impossible to detect inadequate tire pressure and thus increased the risk of vehicle accidents. road.
