Tesla’s Cybertruck is facing blowback in Europe, particularly over pedestrian safety concerns. Euro NCAP, a voluntary but influential car safety assessment program in Europe, has not in any way tested the Cybertruck, but based on a visual assessment alone, raised alarms over its sharp, angular design, saying it could pose a serious threat to pedestrians. Indeed, Matthew Avery, Euro NCAP’s strategic development director, suggests to Wired that the Cybertruck could receive a poor safety rating, which could doom sales.
Already the small number of Cybertrucks registered in the EU have prompted European transport nongovernmental organizations to call for the trucks’ removal from public roads, saying their oversized, sharp-edged design violates European safety standards and could endanger pedestrians, cyclists, and other motorists.
Some U.S. safety experts agree. In an interview with Business Insider late last year, one called the Cybertruck a “guideless missile.” The bigger question is what it means for the truck’s future in Europe, where there’s far more focus on pedestrian protection than in the U.S.
