Elon Musk explains why Tesla’s Cybertruck windows smashed during presentation – The Verge, The Verge

  

The unveiling ofTesla’s Cybertrucklast week was full of surprises, but none more shocking than the moment when lead designer Franz von Holzhausen smashed two of the vehicle’s “armor glass” windows onstage with a metal ball. It certainly wasn’t the result CEO Elon Musk was expecting, who could be heard muttering “oh my fucking god”under his breathbefore being forced to complete his presentation in front of the fractured panes.

But Musk says he knows what went wrong, and explained things on Twitter. Right before the metal ball test, von Holzhausen smacked the door with a sledgehammer on stage to prove its durability (and unlike the glass, it was fine), and Musksaysthis impact “cracked base of glass,” which is why the windows subsequently smashed when hit by the ball.

  

                                                             

This seems plausible, especially as Musk also shared aslow motion videoof von Holzhausen performing the same exact test before the event, with the ball bouncing harmlessly off the window. The combined impacts likely weakened the glass, setting the stage for the eventual smash. (Though why the back window broke as well isn’t clear: the passenger door didn’t get whomped by the sledgehammer.)

At any rate, the smashed glass was just one moment in an event which gave viewers plenty to talk aboutWithoutthe on-stage mishaps. The divisive design and impressive specs of the Cybertruck have caught the world’s attention, and since the unveiling Musk has been drip-feeding bits of information on Twitter to keep people engaged.

Solar panels on the roof that charge the car as it drives? We’re doing it,says Musk. A new matte black finish? “Sure,” he says. The Tesla CEO evensuggesteda second, “smaller ”Version of the Cybertruck would make sense in the“ long term. ”

We’ll have to wait and see how many of these promises become a reality (remember: Musk has been predicting Teslas will have “full self driving” capabilityfor years) but there’s certainly a lot of interest in the Cybertruck. As of Monday morning, Musk said the company had received more than200, 000 preordersfor the vehicle, “with no advertising & no paid endorsement.” All it took was a few smashed windows instead.