Recently, a shocking incident unfolded at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas when U.S. Army Master Sergeant Matthew Livelsberger drove his rented Cybertruck to the front entrance. Moments later, he triggered a device that set off a series of gas canisters and fireworks, sending a powerful explosion through the building’s windows and injuring seven people nearby.
Elon Musk, never one to miss an opportunity for publicity, quickly took to X to tout the Cybertruck’s supposed resilience. According to him, the vehicle “actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards.”
A year into its production, it appears that containing explosions might be the Cybertruck’s only notable safety feature. A recent analysis by independent automotive blog FuelArc presents a grim outlook: fire-related fatalities in Cybertrucks are reportedly 17 times more likely than in the infamous Ford Pinto, a vehicle notorious for its deadly fuel tank design.
The comparison stems from sales data—so far, Tesla has sold an estimated 34,438 Cybertrucks, while the Pinto, discontinued in 1980, sold 3,173,491 units. FuelArc’s research shows that five Cybertruck drivers have already died in fires, whereas 27 Pinto drivers met the same fate. However, when adjusted for the number of units sold, the Cybertruck’s projected fire fatality rate sits at 14.52 deaths per 100,000 vehicles, vastly surpassing the Pinto’s 0.85.
In response to the alarming findings, a FuelArc analyst offered a word of caution to Cybertruck owners: “You should know where your emergency door releases are and how to operate them, and instruct your backseat passengers on the same.” Given Tesla’s lack of transparency about its sales figures—presumably to avoid unsettling investors—FuelArc acknowledges that its calculations are estimates.
Adding to the growing list of concerns, the nearly three-ton Cybertruck has never undergone independent crash testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nor has Tesla disclosed its safety test results. This leaves both drivers and pedestrians uncertain about the true risks of sharing the road with these futuristic behemoths.
From reports of weak or non-existent crumple zones to malfunctions in its self-driving technology, battery fires, and instances of the vehicle abruptly shutting down mid-drive, the Cybertruck has proven to be more of a hazard than a revolution. In some regions, authorities have already taken action—UK officials have impounded Cybertrucks on arrival, while European safety organizations are pushing to keep them off the streets entirely.
Yet, in North America, these controversial vehicles continue to roam in growing numbers, leaving the public to deal with the consequences at least until the trend fades and they become more of an embarrassment than a status symbol.
