Elon Musk explains Tesla Cybertruck window fail, says 200K have been ordered already
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Excuses, excuses …
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has spent the past few days tweeting explanations for the embarrassing rollout of the company’s new Cybertruck pickup last Thursday.
During a demonstration of the triangular truck’s allegedly superstrong “Armor” windows, Tesla designer Franz von Holzhausen threw a metal ball at the front door window causing it to shatter, and did it again with the rear door window with the same result.
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Musk laughed off the failed stunt by saying there was “room for improvement.”
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Then late Friday he posted a video to Twitter, which he said was filmed before the event, showing von Holzhauzen throwing the ball at the window without breaking it, workshop vacuum at the ready.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}However, many observers noted that the way the tarp-covered door appears to move suggests it is open, which potentially could have absorbed some of the impact.
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Musk followed up on Sunday by claiming that the base of the glass was cracked prior to the ball test when von Holzhausen hit the “bulletproof” door panel with a sledgehammer to demonstrate its dent resistance, but did not provide visual evidence or an account for why the rear door glass also broke.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Musk also explained the Cybertruck’s “planar” design was largely due to the company’s inability to stamp the ultra-hard stainless steel body panels into shapes without breaking a stamping press.
(Tesla)
Along with the clarifications, Musk has been tweeting a running tally of reservations Tesla has received for the Cybertruck, which reached 200,000 orders by Sunday evening. Each requires just a $100 refundable deposit, compared to the $1,000 Tesla asked to reserve a Model 3 when it was first revealed in 2016.
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