Tesla CEO Elon Musk says that the all-electric automaker believes that its new Cybertruck shall be “a lot safer per mile” than different vans in its class.

The assertion comes all whereas the Cybertruck stays underneath fireplace concerning its occupant security since Tesla shared slow-motion crash check movies in the course of the supply occasion, which raised considerations that the truck lacked crumple zones to soak up affect forces.

The priority was because of the lack of seen deformation of the truck throughout a head-on collision at 35 MPH. The truck appeared to not crumple like most trendy automobiles, and even resulted within the truck’s rear wheel—which is used to steer the automobile—displaying vital motion when it collided. To many, this meant that the pressure of the affect might translate to the occupants like a land yacht from the Nineteen Seventies.

“As a result of the middle of gravity is so low, it would not roll over,” mentioned Musk on the Cybertruck’s supply occasion whereas exhibiting varied affect crash checks of the Cybertruck to the viewers. “Should you’re ever in an argument with one other automobile, you’ll win.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s response within the above tweet didn’t simply deal with occupancy security. It additionally touched on pedestrians. A counter-argument going across the web is that Tesla’s suite of security software program and its sloped front-end assist to make it safer than different automobiles in its class.

Vehicles, typically talking, are extra harmful to pedestrians in crashes. The truth is, a examine carried out by the Insurance coverage Institute for Freeway Security discovered that vans with hood heights over 40 inches are roughly 45% extra prone to end in a fatality throughout a pedestrian affect. Couple that with the insane acceleration and pressure current in a majority of these collisions with a heavy EV and also you’ve acquired a possible recipe for fatalities.

“No matter their nostril form, pickups, SUVs, and vans with a hood peak higher than 40 inches are about 45 % extra prone to trigger fatalities in pedestrian crashes than vehicles and different automobiles with a hood peak of 30 inches or much less and a sloping profile,” writes the IIHS in its examine of 18,000 pedestrian-involved crashes. It later continues: “Nonetheless, amongst automobiles with hood heights between 30 and 40 inches, a blunt, or extra vertical, entrance finish will increase the danger to pedestrians.”

Now, Tesla hasn’t revealed how tall the Cybertruck’s entrance finish is, however we do know the dimensions of the tires on the truck. That alone tells us that the entrance finish sits greater than 40 inches off the bottom and would possible fall inside the statistics that the IIHS revealed.

The Cybertruck clearly has a considerably extra sloped hood than different vans in its section, just like the F-150. Nonetheless, it’s unlikely that may considerably have an effect on the mortality of a pedestrian-related crash given the peak of the hood. The IIHS instructed InsideEVs its examine discovered {that a} automobile’s front-end profile didn’t seem to matter that a lot as soon as the automobile’s hood peak is over 40 inches.

“The outcomes recommend {that a} pedestrian concerned in a crash with a automobile with a 40-inch hood peak and a sloped entrance finish would have a higher likelihood of surviving than in the identical crash with a automobile with a 40-inch hood peak and blunt entrance finish,” mentioned an IIHS spokesperson in an e mail to InsideEVs. “For taller automobiles, nevertheless, that front-end profile is much less of a think about [survivability].”

We additionally know that the Cybertruck will possible by no means make it to Europe on account of its comparatively sharp protrusions. European security necessities name for all exterior projections to have rounded corners of not less than 3.2 millimeters, which, basically, is to stop automobiles from being rolling guillotines ought to a pedestrian affect happen. Tesla’s Vice President of Automobile Engineering, Lars Moravy, claims that this requirement is “inconceivable” to attain with Tesla’s so-called “air bending” manufacturing methodology.

Let’s be clear—I’m hoping that Tesla can again up its claims of occupant and pedestrian security. Tesla usually brags about its automobile security by quarterly automobile security reviews, not less than up till the top of 2022 when it stopped reporting the figures. These statistics measured what number of million miles have been pushed throughout its fleet with out an accident, with and with out Autopilot enabled, in comparison with the U.S. common. If the variety of accidents might be diminished, and even the variety of deadly accidents, by the usage of automobile and software program engineering, then that’s a step in the precise course.

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