There was a fantastic moment during the unveiling of the Tesla Cybertruck in 2019, when lead designer Franz von Holzhausen threw a metal ball at the window for his hard work to prove the quality of the ‘armor glass’, only to have it shatter.
Elon Musk then had to finish the rest of the presentation, standing in front of a broken down truck and then explaining on Twitter that Von Holzhausen hitting the door with a sledgehammer probably softened it.
As if he wants to make up for it and substantiate the fact that Musk’s truck is rock solid, he says took to Twitter to confirm that the company “emptied the entire drum magazine of an Al Capone-style Tommy gun from the driver’s door” and that “no bullets penetrated the passenger compartment.
This came after a member of Silicon Valley’s Tesla owners spotted and filmed a shot Cybertruck (below) driving down the highway, as if it were starring in a scene from the next GTA game.
BREAKING: Cybertruck seen on highway, tested possibly bulletproof 📐👽🤯Seen by club member. pic.twitter.com/wBr9mNrLl7October 20, 2023
Indeed, the door panels of the vehicle in question appear to be littered with what appears to be ballistic material, even though that process was conveniently not captured on film.
Astute internet commentators were also quick to point out that Musk’s team avoided aiming at the glass – which, given the previous incident at Cybertruck’s launch, was probably wise.
Naysayers are not impressed
If you do a little searching online, you’ll find a Tommy gun, as Musk describes it, that fires .45-caliber bullets, which some ammunition experts consider not a particularly powerful round, making this PR stunt a little less impressive than he seems.
Once again, Elon Musk and Tesla aren’t shy about producing a little viral content that always seems to magically find its way to X (formerly Twitter).
A legitimate bulletproof test or a great way to distract from the painful third-quarter earnings results? You decide.