Made to withstand bullets and sledgehammers, the side windows of Elon Musk’s futuristic Cybertruck vehicle cracked easily from... metal balls thrown by hand during Tesla’s pompous livestream presentation.
The avid innovator rolled out Tesla’s most surreal product ever, called the Cybertruck, on Friday, bragging about the electric vehicle’s toughness and sustainability. Ever a showman, he went on to show off its most unique features to onlookers.
While on stage, Musk asked Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s chief designer, to hit the door of the truck with a sledgehammer, and it endured. But things got awry when he tried to show that its windows were practically bulletproof as well.
Von Holzhausen probably knew something that others didn’t, asking Musk: “You sure?” As he gave the final nod, the design chief threw a metal, baseball-sized ball at the driver-side window.
The glass didn’t completely shatter, but appeared to crack from edge to edge.
“Oh my f**king God,” Musk chuckled. “Well, maybe that was a little too hard.” Von Holzhausen then threw the ball again at the rear passenger window, which also cracked. “[There’s] room for improvement,” Musk acknowledged, “We’ll fix it in post.”
Conspicuously enough, Tesla’s YouTube channel changed the privacy settings of the video shortly after the live stream ended.
Musk is no stranger to dealing with embarrassing fails and freak-outs.
Also on rt.com Elon Musk's five famous fails & freakouts in the year pastExpected to start at $39,900, the Cybertruck will come in three variants, each capable of covering 250, 300 and 500 miles, respectively.
The embarrassing PR fail was relentlessly bashed online, with Twitter users drawing some tongue-in-cheek comparisons.
Others likened the Cybertruck’s look to that of a coffin. Or to something that’s low-tech... or crafted using MS Paint.
Those online on the other side of the ocean still appreciated Musk’s ability to keep calm and carry on.
Many thought that Tesla couldn’t possibly create such a ridiculous vehicle and the truck was merely a giant troll from Musk. Some brands even jumped on the bandwagon and sought to garner free publicity from social media storm.
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