The first deliveries of Tesla Cybertrucks have taken place in the USA, with many motorists excited to get their hands on one five years after it was first announced.
However, the car leasing company Stable Vehicle Contracts has stated that UK drivers interested in getting behind the wheel of the unconventional electric pickup truck may be in for some disappointment.
Currently, Tesla have no plans to sell the Cybertruck in the UK market, with a spokesperson for Stable Vehicle Contracts noting that they are too heavy and dangerous for most motorists.
They explained: “The Cybertruck is called as a light-duty truck in the US, so it is exempt from many standards that provide drivers and passengers a minimum level of protection. In Europe and the UK, however, it’s not so simple.
“In the UK, vehicles with a maximum gross vehicle weight (MGVW) of over 3.5 tonnes (7,700lbs) are required to have a Category C1 driving licence. We highly doubt many people in the UK are going to go out and pass their C1 category driving licence just to drive this thing.”
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Stable Vehicle Contracts also warned that Tesla would need to heavily modify the Cybertruck’s design to be compliant with longstanding safety standards in the UK.
They said: “The Cybertruck front end is sharp and angular, so it fails this [UK safety regulations]. Plenty of UK road-legal cars have angular designs but they are quite often built with lower clearance and safety in mind.
“The Cybertruck has a flat front end combined with a sharp, angled point leading up toward the windscreen. If it hits a pedestrian, they are less likely to go over the bonnet and more likely to be pushed away or go underneath. This would fail UK regulations.”
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Currently, Tesla only intends to sell their Cybertruck in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with motorists elsewhere looking to buy one required to privately import their own example.
Despite Tesla CEO Elon Musk planning to produce between 250,000 and 500,000 Cybertrucks per year, the amount of time and money needed to make the model conform to European regulations would likely make it unprofitable.
Instead, the popular company has recently given it’s more conventional Model 3 electric hatchback a new look, with plans to introduce a budget model, with a retail price of under £30,000, from 2025.
