Tesla Cybertruck Misses Out on America’s Top Safety Honors
Tesla’s angular, stainless steel colossus has finally faced the uncompromising judgment of America’s crash labs. It impressed in parts, but fell short of the coveted safety laurels that separate the good from the truly great.
The Tesla Cybertruck has now been put through its paces in the United States, undergoing crash testing that offered both reassurance and reality checks. Despite delivering a strong showing in initial trials, the all-electric pickup failed to earn the highly prized “Top Safety Pick” designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a benchmark that demands excellence across the board.
For now, Tesla’s creation has been tested only in the moderate overlap frontal crash, a 40 percent offset impact at 40 mph. In that trial, the Cybertruck proved formidable, offering the highest level of occupant protection for both front and rear passengers. Head, torso and leg injury risks were deemed low, a significant result for a truck of this mass and rigidity. Yet the IIHS reserves its honors for vehicles that also ace side-impact, roof strength and other comprehensive challenges, tests the Cybertruck has yet to undergo.
Even more damaging was the IIHS verdict on lighting. Tesla’s futuristic pickup was marked down for inadequate headlamp performance, an embarrassing shortfall for a vehicle pitched as a technological statement. Safety evaluators also flagged the seatbelt reminder system as substandard, noting its lack of sensitivity and effectiveness compared with expectations in this class.
There were bright spots. The Cybertruck performed convincingly in pedestrian avoidance, both in daylight and in low-light conditions, an increasingly critical metric as crash-testing evolves to reflect broader traffic realities. That success underscores Tesla’s strength in active safety technologies, a field in which the brand has long sought to lead.
The IIHS has left the door open for the Cybertruck to return for further evaluations, which could yet pave the way toward the top tier of safety recognition. For now, though, Tesla’s futuristic truck stands as an engineering statement with unfinished business. The road to the very summit of safety remains a challenging, twisting climb.
