Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) senior engineer Wes Morrill on Monday responded to a video of a Cybertruck running through a picket fence to sustain significant damage and pinned it to the removal of a few significant parts on the vehicle.
What Happened: A YouTuber called Supercar Ron ran a Cybertruck through a white picket fence in one of his videos posted in June. The vehicle sustained significant damage, raising questions about the truck's durability and off-roading protection.
However, Morrill took to X on Monday to note that the truck used in the video had the front bumper and aluminum skid plate for underbody protection removed.
"...if you plan to drive into fences probably best not to remove the front bumper and aluminum skid plate that come stock," Morrill wrote. He also added that battery armor and rock sliders will be available as a retrofit option on the Cybertruck by the end of this year to ensure added protection to the vehicle when off-roading.
Morrill is Cybertruck's lead engineer at Tesla.
Battery armor and Rock sliders will be available as a retrofit option end of this year. Also if you plan to drive into fences probably best not to remove the front bumper and aluminum skid plate that come stock.
— Wes (@wmorrill3) September 9, 2024
Why It Matters: Tesla says that the Cybertruck is durable and rugged enough to go anywhere. However, videos have emerged showing otherwise.
Late last month, Morrill took to X to respond to another video showing the Cybertruck getting stuck in a swamp in rural Maine and having to be subsequently pulled out.
Morrill then pinned the incident on drivers in the video not taking the necessary precautions to offroad through the mud. Any truck, he noted, may have been stuck in the same situation.
"No one is an expert the first time they drive off-road but anyone can learn," Morrill said while adding that he has been considering a "stuck detection" feature on the truck.
Stuck detection, he said, will give Cybertruck drivers pop-up suggestions like try raising the ride height in case they get stuck and do not know how to get out.
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