Tesla fans love depicting the Cybertruck as an indestructible apocalypse-ready vehicle. To prove this, they hit the electric pickup truck with hammers, threw steel balls at its windows, and even fired bullets at it. Some even bought into Elon Musk’s claims that the Cybertruck is a tank and can steamroll anything in its path. Recently I saw a guy claiming this is “the safest vehicle in America.” The reality is starkly different, though, as many of the early Cybertrucks were totaled and ended their lives in a scrapyard.
However, it’s hard to argue that bad drivers are everywhere, and no matter how tough a vehicle is built, it will still end up as a pile of scrap metal if it crashes. Ideally, a crash should not cause the vehicle to burst into flames, although this happens sometimes. Statistics show that it’s more likely to occur in a gas-powered vehicle than an EV, despite the public’s perception. However, the Cybertruck is about to contradict these statistics with an unusually high fire rate.
Earlier this month, we found out about a tragic crash in Bayton Area, Texas, that resulted in a vehicle fire. Unfortunately, the driver lost their life, and an investigation is ongoing to discover what caused the crash, why the Cybertruck caught fire, and what specifically caused the driver’s death: a medical emergency, the collision, or the fire. The Cybertruck reportedly left the road, hit a concrete culvert, and burst into flames. As I said, tragedies do happen, and that was the first documented Cybertruck fire.
Just a couple of days ago, my colleague Elena stumbled upon the charred remains of another Tesla Cybertruck on an auction site. The wreck looked like the Cybertruck also crashed and caught fire, a theory confirmed by the ad’s description. The pile of metal is located in Houston, Texas, which might speak volumes about how Texans drive. It can also be because the Cybertruck is being built in Austin and might be more common in the state.
While two Cybertruck fires in less than a month might sound like an awful coincidence, having a third just a day later is already puzzling. This time, a Cybertruck reportedly hit a hydrant and burst into flames. It’s weird that a fire hydrant was mentioned in a police report as the cause of a fire, but in this case, it’s understandable. The hydrant may have hit the battery pack, causing a rupture that resulted in a fire.
However, this shouldn’t have happened on an adventure vehicle. The battery pack should be well protected behind a solid panel, just in case an off-road adventure ends with a rock hitting the bottom of the truck. And we know from Tesla presentations and fan stories that the Cybertruck is an off-road beast. After seeing this incident, I’d think twice before going off-road in a Cybertruck.
The video shared on Reddit shows the fire raging underneath the truck, with no other sign of damage. The police report is not entirely accurate, as it says the battery ignited after the water from the hydrant soaked it. This couldn’t be true, as battery packs don’t burst into flames when fording a river. First responders said they thought they had extinguished the flames, but the fire began again shortly after stopping the water flow onto the battery. This is a clear sign of a Li-ion battery fire.
