10 Things You Should Never Do to a Cybertruck (That the Owner's Manual Doesn't Tell You)

Tesla started it in the first place, right? It was November 21 when CEO Elon Musk and Design chief Franz von Holzhausen brought a Cybertruck prototype on stage during the unveiling event in Los Angeles.

They had set up a demo show to prove how the windows of the vehicle would withstand pretty much any blow because they were bulletproof/breakproof/whatever-Elon-Musk-wants-proof. However, a metal ball and a sledgehammer later, the front and rear windows on the right side of the electric truck were shattered.

Both Elon and Franz pretended to be in shock that night in LA, staring at each other and at the broken windows, finding it hard to believe what had just happened. We have no idea if they were faking it. So, if it was a PR stunt to get people talking about the futuristic-looking Cybertruck, we wll probably never know. But it worked, and reservations started piling up, extending waiting times to as much as five whole years.

Back then, the vehicle with a body made from stainless steel was supposed to start at $39,900 for the single-motor version, $49,900 for the dual-motor, and $69,900 for the tri-motor. Furthermore, anybody could reserve a Cybertruck for a $100 depoist, with no obligation whatsoever to go ahead and buy it. But something happened along the way.

The world went through a pandemic, through a chip shortage, and through a financial crisis (or whatever that was). The Cybertruck eventually entered production at the Giga Texas more than two years later than originally planned, in July 2023. But you know Elon Musk and his issue respecting deadlines.

Right now, the most affordable version right now starts at almost double the original price: $69,990. Furthermore, the truck that Tesla started delivering back on November 30, the Foundation Series, is a $120,000 affair and is the only one available right now. The used car market has gone bananas with the frst Cybertrucks flipped for staggering amounts of money.

So why would customers start abusing their brand-new, anything-but-cheap vehicle? Does it make sense at all? The owner's manual teaches customers how to use their EVs. But it doesn't tell them the things that they should not do.

However, the Tesla engineers urged owners to stop abusing their Cybertrucks. The vehicles have gone through enough already and have proven their strength.

Besides, warranty might not cover all the insane ideas that come through their minds. So these are the things that you should never put your Cybertruck through. Because whatever you come up to, it has already been done.

1. Do not shoot at it

This vehicle has been shot at more than James Bond has ever been. Throughout the development stage, we saw prototypes carried on trailer trucks and sporting bullet traces all over the windows.

That is because Elon Musk said it can withstand bullets. While other carmakers put their vehicles through the usual tests to check safety, stability, performance, and various other parameters, Tesla is doing it the hard way. We really wished that we could say that no Cybertruck has been harmed in the process. But that would be a terrible lie.

Furthermore, challenged by Elon Musk himself during a podcast, Joe Rogan fired an arrow at the Cybertruck from close range, hoping to pierce the door. All that the arrow was capable of doing was leaving a small dent in the stainless steel body.

2. Do not throw metal balls at it

Four years after the original window-smashing test that took place up on stage in Los Angeles, the owner of the TechRax YouTube channel put the Cybertruck through a similar test. He threw a metal ball straight into the front window on the passenger's side.

He did not put much force into it, so we can't possibly say that the test carried out in February 2024 was just as harsh on the Cybertruck as the one from November 2019. Maybe it was just a precaution that kept the Cybertruck away from the service shop.

The Cybertruck made it through the attempts, but the ball showed a bit of a dent after being thrown into the window. Good thing it was the ball, not the window, even though the glass is not terribly expensive to replace.

3. Do not put tracks on it

The HeavyDSparks team put a Cybertruck up on tracks and took out in the snow to play. Everything seemed right until several parts started to give in. They brought it back to the shop, fixed it, and took it to the mountain again. And again, they broke it.

At the end of the day, the team were not happy that none of the parts installed by them broke. It was just the stock elements. Could it be because the Tesla Cybertruck is designed to wear wheels, not tracks? No matter how big they are, you should just stick to wheels.

The Cybertruck belongs to Supercar Ron, a guy who does not show his face to the camera and uses various kinds of masks instead. He told the HeavyDSparks team that they could do anything they wanted with his Cybertruck. And obviously, they did just that.

4. Crashing it into a five-star hotel signage won't make you famous

Just last month, we reported about a Cybertruck slamming into the signage of the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles at night. According to the original post on X, it was the valet who crashed it.

But the information was dismissed hours later. It was the owner himself the one who got the pickup truck up on that raised curb. A friend of his came up with the valet story just because it sounded more interesting. The luxury hotel also interfered to say that none of its valets was involved.

There was also a rumor that the vehicle was crashed right before Justin Bieber was supposed to drive it. We have our doubts about this detail as well. Why would the pop star want to drive someone else's when he has his own?

5. Don't jump on the tonneau cover

The tonneau cover of the Tesla Cybertruck is made to withstand 300 pounds (136 kilograms). Three years ago, during a drive with Jay Leno, Elon Musk hopped up on the retractable lid of the load bed and started to jump to prove that it was exceptionally strong.

Now, owners and vloggers are doing it as well to prove check for themselves how much that tonneau can withstand instead of taking the official figures for granted: 300 pounds (136 kilograms). Jumping is not included.

However, over the years, jumping on that poor tonneau cover might not be the best of ideas. If you are planning to keep that Cybetruck for a while, that is. Or even sell it for a good price unlike the first Cybertruck reportedly cleared for sale by Tesla, which failed to sell despite being way more affordable than those sold for the past few weeks.

6. The Cybertruck can get cyber-stuck in the sand

You should not take your Tesla Cybertruck to the beach unless you know a thing or two about off-roading. And rule number 1, when going up on sand, is deflating tires.

This definitely is something that an owner had no idea. So the owner of a Cybertruck got stuck on the beach, and he and his friend had to push the vehicle out of the predicament. Police arrived at the scene and wasn't happy to see the two of them and their EV.

They must have seen the Tesla engineers taking a drive on the beach and even taking the model for a little swim. But they were engineers involved in the development of the vehicle. So, who else knows the Cybertruck better?

7. The Cybertruck can swim but not quite

"The Cybertruck could serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes, and even seas that aren't too choppy." Elon Musk said it, so let's just all take it with a grain of salt. You know how Elon bluffs sometimes.

However, one of the owners took it seriously and put his Cybertruck through some serious swimming. The vehicle did not float, but it did not sink either. The water almost reached the side mirrors level.

The Cybertruck seemed fine at first. But it eventually started to show signs of sickness. Hours later, the tonneau cover and tailgate buttons at the back did not seem to work anymore. The owner could only open them via phone.

8. It can chop carrots. And fingers, too

Tesla warned the owners that the opening components of the Cybertruck can chop fingers. So you should be careful where you put your hands. Doors or hood closing can be dangerous, especially to kids who have no idea about the warning.

However, the automaker did not issue a warning for chopping carrots. Thomas and James from the Throttle House YouTube channel tested the capability of the Cybertruck in chopping vegetables, and it worked. Salad, anyone?

They also slammed a shopping cart into the doors of the Cybertruck in the parking lot of a supermarket. Good thing no one was watching. Otherwise, they could have been charged with vandalism.

9. The Cybertruck does not play soccer

Actually, no car does. But people may tend to believe strange things until it turns out they have made an unfixable mistake. In fact, this one is fixable. But it won't be cheap.

The owner of a Cybertruck posted a video and a photo of his vehicle sporting a destroyed mirror. If you think he must have been involved in some crash, well, think again.

The truth is that the owner used his Cybertruck as a "soccer ball rebounder." It "rebounded" all right. That is something that the warranty won't... rebound, though.

10. It doesn't look like a DeLorean DMC-12, no matter how you look at it

Tesla is not generous when it comes to customizing the Cybertruck. They are, in fact, exactly the opposite. They only offer five wrap options, with the Rose Gold and Blue being the most interesting of them.

But owners of Cybertrucks have called on aftermarket shops to wrap their vehicles in the craziest colors and patterns out there. This is how we ended up with a Cybertruck with personality issues. It sometimes believes it is a DeLorean DMC-12 from the "Back to the Future" blockbuster.

The aftermarket shop did its best to make it look like the DeLorean. They even put a wrap mimicking the trash compactor that fueled the car. But it just makes the gigantic Cybertruck look like a cartoon.

BONUS - Drilling horns into the hood is so wrong

We saved "the best" for last. Which might actually be the worst of them all. And don't give us that "It's a Texas thing" line, because we are not falling for it. Drilling horns into the hood of the Cybertruck is so wrong at so many levels.

But we should have seen it coming. Tesla builds the Cybertruck in Texas, set up the handover event in Texas, many customers are apparently Texas residents. So here it is, the world's first Cybertruck wearing horns. Drilling holes into the stainless steel hood wasn't exactly a piece of cake, though.

However, it is not the first Tesla to look like a bull on the road or off-road, for that matter. Three years ago, we came up with a feature about a Model 3 compact sedan that grew horns right above its headlights.

Now that we have all these settled, you, the bravest (or reckless?) Cybertruck owners out there should rethink your ownership strategy. You won't be happy about having all these crazy things posted online when you decide to sell your electric pickup truck. Everyone is going to know that you shot at it, slammed a shopping cart at it, took it for a swim, or threw a soccer ball at it.