New IIHS Video - Comparing the Cybertruck vs. F-150 Lightning in safety rating crash test

[JoeHill]

Unfortunately with Teslas there is an extreme mismatch with IIHS safety ratings and real world fatalities. So far the Cybertruck is no exception. Ford Lightning has sold more overall and been on the road longer than the Cybertruck. Not surprisingly given it's a low volume vehicle there have been no deaths reported from accidents. What is surprising is even lower volume Cybertruck is just how many deaths have already been reported (5). While low numbers make longer term statistical significance uncertain, right now the Cybertruck may have the highest fatality rate of all pickups produced in the same time frame.
Really not that surprising since it seems someone is overriding competent engineers and ignoring basic safety principles when it comes to saving a few dollars or trying to make Teslas "cool'.
Be careful out there.

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[REM]

I'm not saying it is or isn't, I just think it's interesting that the two guys didn't catch that.

oh, ok. The frame is designed to flex and crumple under extreme impact. The more it does, the less your body has to.

A well designed vehicle will explode around the passengers upon a catastrophic crash.

 

[REM]

I followed the documented procedure.

https://service.tesla.com/docs/Cybertruck/ServiceManual/en-us/GUID-E097B426-2928-4739-BAB2-6A71608483B0.html#:~:text=Correction code 17400100 FRT 0.10 NOTE: Unless otherwise explicitly stated in the procedure,

The beam isn't going to be level though lol, it's angled at a very high pitch compared to any other vehicle I've ever driven.

 

[REM]

the Cybertruck may have the highest fatality rate of all pickups produced in the same time frame.

This is absurdly false. There were 4,430 pickup truck deaths in the US in 2024 meaning the Cybertruck accounts for 0.1% of the total.

Really not that surprising since it seems someone is overriding competent engineers and ignoring basic safety principles when it comes to saving a few dollars or trying to make Teslas "cool'.
Be careful out there.

WTF are you talking about? I'm not aware of any Cybertruck related death that wasn't due to extreme negligence like drunk driving at extreme speeds.

 

[CyberTexas]

This is absurdly false. There were 4,430 pickup truck deaths in the US in 2024 meaning the Cybertruck accounts for 0.1% of the total.

WTF are you talking about? I'm not aware of any Cybertruck related death that wasn't due to extreme negligence like drunk driving at extreme speeds.

I think that he meant two recent lawsuits claiming that people burn inside due to passengers unaware of manual release to open the doors in a crash.

 

[REM]

I think that he meant two recent lawsuits claiming that people burn inside due to passengers unaware of manual release to open the doors in a crash.

blissfully ignorant and intoxicated passengers doesn't mean the design is bad though. if people are too unbothered to learn emergency procedures, then I don't know what can be done about that.

I agree with @CyberGus, Tesla should attempt to display visual and audible instructions in the event of airbag deployments. This actually should have been done a long time ago.

In fact, I'll submit that feature request right now via the new Echo portal

 

[CyberGus]

I agree with @CyberGus, Tesla should attempt to display visual and audible instructions in the event of airbag deployments. This actually should have been done a long time ago.

To be fair, I've never actually seen the airbags deploy lol

 

[Drano]

The poor headlight rating given to the Cybertruck is unfortunately quite fair. I sure wish there was a fix for that. Either a better replacement headlight, or an aftermarket headlight (with high and low beam) that could go on the bumper or a bullbar.

I drove our Y on a dark highway a few weeks back. The active LED headlight system is shockingly good. I was confused at first, because the headlights refused to drop from high beam... but I soon realized the active function was doing its job and very well too. I had nobody flash their lights at me in an hour and a half on the undivided highway. Even following a semi, the silver back doors were black... completely unilluminated.

The fact that I now avoid driving the CT on dark highways is a huge disappointment... because the headlight performance is worse than bad IMHO.

MAYBE Tesla will update the LED's with a different version of Matrix that will fit within the given space.

 

[BrockN]

MAYBE Tesla will update the LED's with a different version of Matrix that will fit within the given space.

That would be nice, but I suspect they painted themselves into a corner with the form factor.

Winter is approaching again and I'm not looking forward to more hours of darkness than daylight. I'm thinking once more about adding a set of real headlights to the front somehow. Possibly switch high and low beams with a Bluetooth switch and power with a buck converter from the front 48 Volt supply.

 

[TexasRaider]

Are there any simple solutions to headlight glare? Such as smoked headlight covers? (Remember the late 90s / early 2000s.)

 

[SONNYDUT]

I disagree on the head lights. Brighter is better, so I could see what ahead. I don't believed the over glare for CT, as was claim.

 

[HaulingAss]

I've never read anything in the test reports that would support 'very well'. Empirical results/comments/real world experiences from some owners would certainly dispute 'very well'.

Yeah, I've never seen any new vehicle forum, whether it be a F-150 forum, a Silverado forum, etc. that didn't have at least a few people claiming they thought the headlights of whatever new vehicle they had could use some improvements.

The issue I took was that you tried to leverage the IIHS headlight test report to say it supported your personal observations. But my understanding is the Cybertruck got the highest IIHS score possible from the driver's perspective, it was only the glare test (oncoming drivers) that caused them to lower the overall headlight rating. I guess you were not aware of that.

And that supports my personal observation, the lights are very bright and effective, they do a good job of lighting up the scene in a relatively even manner, without the hotspot up close that many cars have and that ruins the driver's night vision. I'm 62 years old and my eye doctor just told me she can detect the beginnings of cataracts creeping in. But the Cybertruck headlights work really well for me, and I live at a latitude where we depend upon our headlights through the darker months. I also drive on a lot of twisty, rural roads without any artificial lighting, in the rain. That's why I suggested there is something different about your headlights? Could they be "Canadian Spec"? Could Tesla aim the headlights they send North lower to comply with stricter import requirements?

The actual lights are very small and I think that's where the poor beam distribution comes from. It's all well and good to say, "5 lux illumination at X meters", but unless you look at the entire beam pattern and where it's either too dim or too bright (how uniform the illumination is), you aren't really telling much about how the driving experience actually is. "Excessive glare" to me is "light energy wasted where it isn't needed or shouldn't be". That criticism doesn't surprise me as the spill into the trees on either side of the road is ridiculous, and no where near far enough ahead to be useful to detect something lurking at the edge of the forest. I don't need to see what I'm going past - I need to see what's still relevant for reaction time. More lumens might help (they're needed!), but the uniformity is still going to be the primary issue.

The uniformity of the beams (on my Cybertruck) are actually quite good. It's designed with the brightest part of the beam closest to the cutoff because that portion needs to project further down the road. Have you tried using the service menu to reset the aim? Because a lot of owners have said they were better than (a wide range) of their previous cars.

I do keep my headlight lenses clear of bugs and road grime. But I've done that on all my vehicles for decades. Because it doesn't take much of a road film, or too many insects, to dramatically reduce the light output.

If all else fails, have Tesla Service look at them. Maybe you got a bad reflector or something. Tesla just buys the lights from a supplier and I'm sure they don't test each one for conformity, they just spot test them here and there to keep the supplier honest.

 

[roebling]

In YouTube post, IIHS crash tests Cybertruck and Ford F-150 Lightening. Guess who wins!

 

[HaulingAss]

Unfortunately with Teslas there is an extreme mismatch with IIHS safety ratings and real world fatalities. So far the Cybertruck is no exception.

The standard procedure to determine real world accident safety of a particular model of vehicle is to use statistical analysis to normalize the accident/injury rate rate for the driver profiles in terms of age and sex and other demographics. Otherwise, you are largely measuring the driving behavior of the type of person that buys that particular vehicle.

That said, high performance vehicles that can accelerate from low speed to high speed very quickly do tend to have much higher injury and death rates than more boring vehicles because they are much more likely to be driven in an irresponsible manner, as well as being able to get a novice driver in trouble much more rapidly. If you think that's the fault of the vehicle, then I don't know what to tell you except to say I'm glad Tesla didn't play "nanny" and nerf the performance of our amazing vehicles. Because experienced and responsible adults have proven that they are not dangerous when used responsibly.

Ford Lightning has sold more overall and been on the road longer than the Cybertruck. Not surprisingly given it's a low volume vehicle there have been no deaths reported from accidents.

Not all vehicle fatalities are accidents. The Ford Lightning was the vehicle of choice for the New Orleans terror attack that killed 14 innocent pedestrians in under 20 seconds and covering 3 blocks. It was likely chosen for it's massive size and weight, and ability to accelerate rapidly. Again, this is not Ford's fault. Guns are dangerous too, when used inappropriately.

What is surprising is even lower volume Cybertruck is just how many deaths have already been reported (5). While low numbers make longer term statistical significance uncertain, right now the Cybertruck may have the highest fatality rate of all pickups produced in the same time frame.
Really not that surprising since it seems someone is overriding competent engineers and ignoring basic safety principles when it comes to saving a few dollars or trying to make Teslas "cool'.
Be careful out there.

Huh? None of those deaths were the fault of the Cybertruck, all of them involved vehicles being driven in a very unsafe and unskilled manner. How does this come down to "someone is over-riding competent engineers and ignoring basic safety principles"? I am so sick of Tesla haters pushing false narratives and it's even worse when you think you can get away with it on an enthusiasts forum full of people who actually understand just how safe the Cybertruck really is. Do you think we're stupid? It's an insult to say dumb shit like "someone is overriding competent engineers and ignoring basic safety principles when it comes to saving a few dollars or trying to make Teslas cool'." Just dumb without citing any specifics. Tesla is all about safety but they are not going to neuter the Cybertruck's balls just because inexperienced and/or irresponsible drivers might misuse it.

The last time I drove my F-150 4x4, bone stock, I was reminded just how unsafe it's driving dynamics really are compared to the superior driving dynamics of the Cybertruck. It's prone to the most deadly kind of accident, the roll-over. The best safety feature it has is it's slow V8 engine and transmission, compared to even a Dual Motor Cybertruck. The six-speed AT jerks from gear to gear in a very unpleasant manner which encourages more sedate acceleration. Is that what you want Tesla engineers to mimic in the Cybertruck? The Cybertruck is greatly increasing road safety over legacy pickup trucks when used responsibly.

 

[Ozark Cyber]

The standard procedure to determine real world accident safety of a particular model of vehicle is to use statistical analysis to normalize the accident/injury rate rate for the driver profiles in terms of age and sex and other demographics. Otherwise, you are largely measuring the driving behavior of the type of person that buys that particular vehicle.

That said, high performance vehicles that can accelerate from low speed to high speed very quickly do tend to have much higher injury and death rates than more boring vehicles because they are much more likely to be driven in an irresponsible manner, as well as being able to get a novice driver in trouble much more rapidly. If you think that's the fault of the vehicle, then I don't know what to tell you except to say I'm glad Tesla didn't play "nanny" and nerf the performance of our amazing vehicles. Because experienced and responsible adults have proven that they are not dangerous when used responsibly.



Not all vehicle fatalities are accidents. The Ford Lightning was the vehicle of choice for the New Orleans terror attack that killed 14 innocent pedestrians in under 20 seconds and covering 3 blocks. It was likely chosen for it's massive size and weight, and ability to accelerate rapidly. Again, this is not Ford's fault. Guns are dangerous too, when used inappropriately.



Huh? None of those deaths were the fault of the Cybertruck, all of them involved vehicles being driven in a very unsafe and unskilled manner. How does this come down to "someone is over-riding competent engineers and ignoring basic safety principles"? I am so sick of Tesla haters pushing false narratives and it's even worse when you think you can get away with it on an enthusiasts forum full of people who actually understand just how safe the Cybertruck really is. Do you think we're stupid? It's an insult to say dumb shit like "someone is overriding competent engineers and ignoring basic safety principles when it comes to saving a few dollars or trying to make Teslas cool'." Just dumb without citing any specifics. Tesla is all about safety but they are not going to neuter the Cybertruck's balls just because inexperienced and/or irresponsible drivers might misuse it.

The last time I drove my F-150 4x4, bone stock, I was reminded just how unsafe it's driving dynamics really are compared to the superior driving dynamics of the Cybertruck. It's prone to the most deadly kind of accident, the roll-over. The best safety feature it has is it's slow V8 engine and transmission, compared to even a Dual Motor Cybertruck. The six-speed AT jerks from gear to gear in a very unpleasant manner which encourages more sedate acceleration. Is that what you want Tesla engineers to mimic in the Cybertruck? The Cybertruck is greatly increasing road safety over legacy pickup trucks when used responsibly.

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[/QUOTE]
Very well said. My Cybertruck is so stable and easy to control when driving. I marvel at the lack of understanding by individuals that careen past me going substantially over the speed limit in unstable trucks that have been lifted and altered all to feed their fragile ego's.

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