5 ms·

I wonder... some people claim the "negative press" of the glass shattering was by design because it creates a larger narrative, that if they handle properly, ke

I wonder... some people claim the "negative press" of the glass shattering was by design because it creates a larger narrative, that if they handle properly, keeps the truck in the public's ears and eyes everyday (which is has) and if they "fix it" makes them look like they care about their customer bases voice. If I agreed/believed that, this could be a part 2 to that plan. I bet a discussion will come up how government regulations don't allow the public to have bullet-RESISTANT vehicles (no such thing as "bulletproof", especially if you don't get 3rd party standardized testing to back up your claim). Along with trying to rewrite vehicle laws/standards to benefit Tesla. Personally, don't care either way. But I always get this uneasy feeling whenever Musk does anything.

modoc 7y ago
Since when can the public not have bullet resistant vehicles? There are several companies that armor civilian vehicles.
generatorguy 7y ago
Here is a piece of bulletproof glass used on bullet proof cars that takes 18 rounds and isn’t pierced. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_FN5xzeVluc https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_FN5xzeVluc I have a water resistant watch and I understand I can’t go diving with it, but I feel like maybe this glass is more than resistant enough to qualify as “proof”?
- fredophile 7y ago
  Multiple impacts do degrade the performance but the calibre of bullet is also a factor. The video was using a .223 (5.56mm) which is pretty standard for AR15 derived assault rifles. A slightly larger 7.62mm round will have more force and might be able to penetrate the glass. Bigger rounds like .338 lapua or a .50 cal would have even more energy and be more likely to penetrate the glass, especially if it was weakened by previous impacts.
- hackermailman 7y ago
  Bulletproof is a reason that we will see black pr about this truck because many places like Australia/Canada have tried to outlaw these mods due to well known gangsters using them the police are too incompetent to arrest. For example it's illegal to sell bulletproof vests here. Everytime I read some critic of this truck it's from a place that has these laws in place, Musk needs to counter this onslaught of blackPR from 'unfree' countries such as my own who can't arrest known felons so resort to punishing everybody else trying to ban or make illegal these features.
  - DKnoll 7y ago
    Only BC, AB, MB and NS restrict body armour sales. If you live in any other province there is no restriction.
  - Gatsky 7y ago
    What is the use case for bullet proof glass for a civilian that isn't in the USA?
  - friendlybus 7y ago
    Are you saying that cops would prefer to shoot gangsters through normal glass than just arrest them at home? I don't think Australia has any issue banning things, it did guns and cracked open encryption. You're reaching for a conspiracy.
    - hackermailman 7y ago
      Criminals shooting at each other, the politicians here and their PR firms routinely try to reduce the culture of impunity these criminals have flaunting in public their status from the safety of modded bulletproof vehicles and seize them as illegal because they can't ever for some reason just jail the criminal. It's a reached for conspiracy but they have done blackPR like this in the past.
  - petre 7y ago
    Members of the public certainly do not want 'incompetent' police using anti vehicle RPGs against cars because of this stainless steel opression vehicle.
ianai 7y ago
Maybe he wants to make this be the first colony grade vehicle. It might not be legal here, but the steel thing fits a mould with the stainless steel Starship. We’re further off with that than the truck, probably, but they seem sort of pieced together.
- shasheene 7y ago
  "Tesla Cybertruck (pressurized edition) will be official truck of Mars" https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1197627433970589696 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1197627433970589696
Veedrac 7y ago
There are often conspiracies like this around high-profile mistakes. There's a similar one that says New Coke was a PR stunt to increase sales of the original Coca-Cola. “The truth is we are not that dumb, and we are not that smart.” Occam's Razor is your friend.
- corodra 7y ago
  I did say "if I agreed/believed it". But if it were true, that's where I believe the discourse would end up. But to be fair, PR stunt dynamics are better understood these past two decades compared to the 80s. The last decade alone, you can see the reaction of the public to news instantly, react to it and see the public reaction-reaction instantly, with well formatted analytics. That's the only reason I don't immediately dismiss the idea like it was a flat-earther conspiracy theory. There's plenty of analytics to try making a solid plan to do something like that. At the same time, I have zero proof that it's ever been done intentionally. There's a book called Weapons of Math-destruction. In it the author talks about Facebook's potential ability of swaying public discourse and increasing the chances of certain votes using their analytics knowledge. While the author said it's a scary thought, it could never happen and there's no evidence it has been done or would be done. This book came out 2016 (books are typically published about 6-12 months after manuscript is accepted, so written roughly 2015). So... yea.
algaeontoast 7y ago
In the U.S. it's completely legal in most states to purchase armored vehicles. Most people can't afford them since even used decade old vehicles are $300k+ . This is very similar to why it's 100% legal to purchase soft body armor even level 4 (resistant to armor piercing rifle rounds) plates. Personally, banning items like this seems backwards, since politicians and rich people can afford to hire dozens of people with assault weapons and body armor while common folk can't. Also, claiming something is "resistant to 9mm" doesn't really mean "bullet proof". A lot of things are inherently impervious to pistol rounds, I can just about grantee 7.62x39 or 5.56x45 would sail right through the cybertruck.
- paranoidrobot 7y ago
  > claiming something is "resistant to 9mm" doesn't really mean "bullet proof". This sounds like the same argument about Autopilot (both the aircraft and Tesla version of it). Pilots know you have to monitor the aircraft constantly while the various autopilot systems are active, however the general public have this "Oh, you just press a button and it flies itself" thing (and apply that assumption to the Tesla Autopilot system).

modoc 7y ago

Since when can the public not have bullet resistant vehicles? There are several companies that armor civilian vehicles.

generatorguy 7y ago

Here is a piece of bulletproof glass used on bullet proof cars that takes 18 rounds and isn’t pierced. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_FN5xzeVluc https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_FN5xzeVluc I have a water resistant watch and I understand I can’t go diving with it, but I feel like maybe this glass is more than resistant enough to qualify as “proof”?

fredophile 7y ago
Multiple impacts do degrade the performance but the calibre of bullet is also a factor. The video was using a .223 (5.56mm) which is pretty standard for AR15 derived assault rifles. A slightly larger 7.62mm round will have more force and might be able to penetrate the glass. Bigger rounds like .338 lapua or a .50 cal would have even more energy and be more likely to penetrate the glass, especially if it was weakened by previous impacts.
hackermailman 7y ago
Bulletproof is a reason that we will see black pr about this truck because many places like Australia/Canada have tried to outlaw these mods due to well known gangsters using them the police are too incompetent to arrest. For example it's illegal to sell bulletproof vests here. Everytime I read some critic of this truck it's from a place that has these laws in place, Musk needs to counter this onslaught of blackPR from 'unfree' countries such as my own who can't arrest known felons so resort to punishing everybody else trying to ban or make illegal these features.
- DKnoll 7y ago
  Only BC, AB, MB and NS restrict body armour sales. If you live in any other province there is no restriction.
- Gatsky 7y ago
  What is the use case for bullet proof glass for a civilian that isn't in the USA?
- friendlybus 7y ago
  Are you saying that cops would prefer to shoot gangsters through normal glass than just arrest them at home? I don't think Australia has any issue banning things, it did guns and cracked open encryption. You're reaching for a conspiracy.
  - hackermailman 7y ago
    Criminals shooting at each other, the politicians here and their PR firms routinely try to reduce the culture of impunity these criminals have flaunting in public their status from the safety of modded bulletproof vehicles and seize them as illegal because they can't ever for some reason just jail the criminal. It's a reached for conspiracy but they have done blackPR like this in the past.
- petre 7y ago
  Members of the public certainly do not want 'incompetent' police using anti vehicle RPGs against cars because of this stainless steel opression vehicle.

ianai 7y ago

Maybe he wants to make this be the first colony grade vehicle. It might not be legal here, but the steel thing fits a mould with the stainless steel Starship. We’re further off with that than the truck, probably, but they seem sort of pieced together.

shasheene 7y ago
"Tesla Cybertruck (pressurized edition) will be official truck of Mars" https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1197627433970589696 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1197627433970589696

Veedrac 7y ago

There are often conspiracies like this around high-profile mistakes. There's a similar one that says New Coke was a PR stunt to increase sales of the original Coca-Cola. “The truth is we are not that dumb, and we are not that smart.” Occam's Razor is your friend.

corodra 7y ago
I did say "if I agreed/believed it". But if it were true, that's where I believe the discourse would end up. But to be fair, PR stunt dynamics are better understood these past two decades compared to the 80s. The last decade alone, you can see the reaction of the public to news instantly, react to it and see the public reaction-reaction instantly, with well formatted analytics. That's the only reason I don't immediately dismiss the idea like it was a flat-earther conspiracy theory. There's plenty of analytics to try making a solid plan to do something like that. At the same time, I have zero proof that it's ever been done intentionally. There's a book called Weapons of Math-destruction. In it the author talks about Facebook's potential ability of swaying public discourse and increasing the chances of certain votes using their analytics knowledge. While the author said it's a scary thought, it could never happen and there's no evidence it has been done or would be done. This book came out 2016 (books are typically published about 6-12 months after manuscript is accepted, so written roughly 2015). So... yea.

algaeontoast 7y ago

In the U.S. it's completely legal in most states to purchase armored vehicles. Most people can't afford them since even used decade old vehicles are $300k+ . This is very similar to why it's 100% legal to purchase soft body armor even level 4 (resistant to armor piercing rifle rounds) plates. Personally, banning items like this seems backwards, since politicians and rich people can afford to hire dozens of people with assault weapons and body armor while common folk can't. Also, claiming something is "resistant to 9mm" doesn't really mean "bullet proof". A lot of things are inherently impervious to pistol rounds, I can just about grantee 7.62x39 or 5.56x45 would sail right through the cybertruck.

paranoidrobot 7y ago
> claiming something is "resistant to 9mm" doesn't really mean "bullet proof". This sounds like the same argument about Autopilot (both the aircraft and Tesla version of it). Pilots know you have to monitor the aircraft constantly while the various autopilot systems are active, however the general public have this "Oh, you just press a button and it flies itself" thing (and apply that assumption to the Tesla Autopilot system).