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Elon Musk has just unveiled a brand new product in the Tesla line, an electric vehicle called “cybertruck”. It has space for six people and goes from 0 to 100 kilometers (0 to 60 miles) an hour in less than 3 seconds. Musk also claimed that it’s bulletproof. Unfortunately, when he tried to demonstrate this safety feature at an event in California, it didn't go quite as planned.
The truck is made of the same alloys used in spacecraft and the windows are made of armored glass. The billionaire expounded its technological virtues, declaring in the demonstration: “We created an exoskeleton. It is literally bulletproof to a 9mm handgun.”
To boldly showcase the strength of the truck Tesla’s chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen, asked Musk if he could throw a metal ball at the window of the truck. The result was quite the smash hit. The ball bearing smashed the window immediately. Even Musk couldn't quell his surprise, letting out a couple of expletives.
“Oh my f**king god!” an astonished Musk exclaimed. “Maybe that was a little hard!”
They tried a gentler throw on a second window, smashing that one as well. At least we know that its front and rear side-windows have consistent quality.
"It didn’t go through, that’s a plus side," Mr Musk said, reports BBC News.
"We threw wrenches, we threw literally the kitchen sink at the glass and it didn’t break. For some reason it broke now… I don’t know why."
As you can imagine, the Internet is having a field day about it. And it's not just the cracked bulletproof glass that is being laughed at. The extremely angular design is also being mocked rather viciously. Comparisons vary wildly from the original Lara Croft to a crude sketch of Back to the Future's DeLorean to a rejected Mad Max vehicle.
The electric cybertruck will have a range of 250 miles to 500 miles range, depending on which model you get, and can tow 3.4 tonnes. It is expected to go on sale from late 2021 or early 2022, with the basic model costing $39,900 and the most expensive version available with a price tag of $76,900. It is already possible to pre-order.
