“The Cybertruck’s weight, rigid structure and sleek design have raised legitimate concerns,” she tells WIRED. “Any loophole that allows these vehicles onto (UK) roads must be closed quickly.”
“It would be extremely disappointing if a back door were opened to allow vehicles that pose an increased risk of damage to the UK’s roads and paths,” agrees Margaret Winchcomb, deputy chief executive of PACTS, the parliamentary advisory body for road safety Expert panel for over 100 UK transport companies.
“Allowing vehicles to appear to be of secondary importance to the safety of others would be a major step backwards,” she adds.
Although Tesla has made bold safety claims about the Cybertruck and released its own crash test dummy footage, no independent body has crash tested the vehicle. U.S. regulators rely on automakers to test and certify their own compliance with safety standards.
The federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the insurance industry are supported Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) only performs crash tests on some vehicles. The effort is too high for these organizations to test all vehicles, so selection is made based on sales volume.
“Although (the Cybertruck) has received a lot of attention, it is unlikely that we would invest resources to test it if it did not sell in comparable numbers to other popular full-size pickups,” said IIHS media director Joe Young.
“Without having tested the Cybertruck, I can’t say anything about the effectiveness of its crumple zones,” he emphasizes. “For now, our design concerns are limited to the issues we have raised with other electric vehicles. It’s very heavy and very fast.”
Due to the Cybertruck’s “unusual design,” the U.K. Department for Transport (DfT) told WIRED that it “does not wish to predict” whether the pickup would receive an IVA pass administered by the DfT.
“The IVA program was designed for (small and medium-sized businesses) engaged in the conversion or import of specialized vehicles,” the statement to WIRED continued, “and was created long before the Cybertruck was conceived. “
Based on the DfT’s carefully calibrated comments, Charalambous may be wasting his time and money trying to pass the IVA test. “The vehicle incorporates advanced technology which may not comply with UK regulations,” the DfT statement warns.
In his videos, Charalambous drives through the southeast of England in his Cybertruck with Albanian livery. If caught by a knowledgeable police officer, Charalambous could be fined. “A UK resident must not drive a vehicle with foreign number plates in the UK,” the DfT statement confirmed, saying that an “imported car must not be driven by a UK resident with foreign number plates, except to and from ( an annual security check). and a) pre-booked VAT (appointment).”
In his third video, Charalambous said he was legally allowed to drive his Cybertruck in the UK because the Albanian seller gave him a Green Card, an international insurance certificate issued in Albania. This is also a taboo, says the DfT: “Driving an unregistered vehicle would invalidate any insurance.”
Only time – and a lot of money – will determine whether Charalambous manages to legalize his UK-based Cybertruck, but the odds are slim.
