Sometimes big unveils don't always go to plan.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk took the stage in Los Angeles Thursday evening to show off the company's first electric pickup truck. Like all marketing stunts from Musk, the showy event was highly anticipated, but the keynote didn't exactly go to plan.
As if showing off a big fucking metal truck wasn't already evidence of a dick-measuring contest, Tesla thought it would be a great idea to show off the durability of its new Cybertruck. So, they beat it with a sledgehammer and threw metal balls at the windows, which Musk claimed were "bulletproof."
After a dramatic unveiling that included fireballs and smoke, Musk brought out the company's lead designer, Franz von Holzhausen, who walked onto the stage holding an orange sledgehammer and dressed in a T-shirt for all to see his big guns.
"Don't hold back," Musk told Franz, who then smashed a regular truck's door alongside the Cybertruck's door with his big boy hammer.
Telsa's truck didn't even register a scratch, while the regular truck door was left with a big dent.
"You want a truck that's tough. You want a truck that's really tough. Not fake tough," Musk said, taking a dig at Ford's slogan “Built Ford Tough.”
Finally, Musk got to the thing that probably no one was concerned about: the Cybertruck's windows. "What about the glass? Seems like a vulnerability," Musk said.
The team then dropped metal balls on panes of regular auto glass, which predictably shattered, and Tesla's armored glass, which didn't. Musk then asked Franz to throw his big metal balls at the Cybertruck.
"You sure?" Franz responded, as if he knew how this was going to end.
"Oh my fucking god."
With a light toss, Franz shattered the truck's driver-side window, eliciting an "Oh my fucking god," from a clearly shocked Musk.
Franz then had the bright idea to try the same stunt on the rear window, even though Musk was clearly not convinced it was going to hold up.
"Let's try the other one," Franz said with a smile on his face.
"Let's try the other one? Really?" Musk responded.
Really.
Trying to be positive, Musk noted that the balls didn't go through the truck's windows, which is correct. But still, this is not a good look. Musk then admitted that maybe the windows need a little bit of work.
Considering the event was livestreamed for all to see, the reactions online were swift and brutal.
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In all fairness to Tesla, the company had to prove that its ugly-ass truck is durable. Aside from the Tesla enthusiasts that will buy anything Musk touches, the people that are actually are going to use this thing need a durable truck that can take a beating. And those people probably need some convincing that an all-electric truck can stand on the same ground as their gas-guzzling hunk of metal.
While I'm not going to bash Musk for trying to improve something, the thing about automotive glass is that it's actually pretty good. And there are certain situations where you WANT your windows or even your windshield to shatter safely, such as in an accident. What if you accidentally drove your car into a body of water, and your doors were jammed? What if your vehicle was pinned between two trees and the only way for emergency services to save you was to break the glass.
The Cybertruck won't even go into production until late 2021. So, uh, looks like they have some time to figure out the whole window thing.
