Tesla's Cybertruck, the company's first all-electric truck, hit roads in the United States at the end of November 2023, with customers finally able to get behind the wheel of the long-anticipated model.
The release was hit with setbacks, controversy, and no shortage of split opinion, which perhaps only served to enhance the intrigue and interest surrounding it.
But one of the more infamous moments during the Cybertruck's promotion cycle was the "steel ball test," which occurred at the model's unveiling event in 2019.
In order to test the strength of the Cybertruck, Tesla CEO Elon Musk asked chief designer Franz von Holzhausen to throw a heavy steel ball at the driver's side window.
The stunt did not go as planned, with the ball shattering the glass and leaving an audience in stunned silence — with a little bit of laughter thrown in.
Of course, the fail went viral, and it became an easy stick to beat the Cybertruck with during its repeated delays on the way to full production.
But YouTube channel TechRax decided to repeat the test with a real-world model, examining the window's strength first by throwing a baseball at it and then a stainless steel ball.
This time, the test went better than the 2019 launch. After three attempts with the steel ball, the only damage to the passenger-side window was a tiny, barely perceptible scratch.
"That's another level of durability test," said one commenter on YouTube.
"The Cybertruck truly is a beast of a vehicle," a Teslarati report on the latest test read.
The internet isn't short of videos of people testing out the truck's durability. Even Tesla posted a video featuring a variety of guns being fired at the outer shell. The bullets dented the bodywork, but none pierced the vehicle through to the truck's interior.
While the durability is no doubt impressive, it might not be the main factor that's drawing intense customer interest.
According to Tesla, the Cybertruck can offer 340 miles of range on a single charge and recharge in just 15 minutes. Those factors will certainly help eliminate range anxiety among drivers, and the increasing availability of charging stations across North America is another boost.
A high-performance and strong truck that produces zero tailpipe pollution will provide customers with more options in a competitive market, and that should help to remove more trucks powered by polluting dirty fuel from the nation's roads in the years to come.
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