The UK Now Has Its Own Non-Rubberized Cybertruck On The Road

“The Cybertruck’s weight, durability, and sharp design have raised concerns,” he tells WIRED. “Any means of allowing these vehicles onto (UK) roads must be stopped immediately.”

“It would be very disappointing if a back door were to be opened allowing vehicles that pose a serious threat to the roads and streets of the UK,” agrees Margaret Winchcomb, deputy director general of PACTS, the expert body of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety. for over 100 UK organisations.

“Allowing vehicles where the safety of others is seen as a minor concern would be a major step backwards,” he adds.

Although Tesla has made bold claims about the safety of the Cybertruck and released its test footage, no independent organizations have tested the vehicle. US regulators rely on car manufacturers to test themselves and ensure they meet safety standards.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and insurance companies are supported Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) tests crashes on certain vehicles only. The costs are too high for these agencies to test all vehicles, so decisions are made based on sales volume.

“Even though (Cybertruck) has made a lot of noise, it’s unlikely that we’ll spend money to test it unless we’re selling the same numbers as other big trucks,” said IIHS director of press, Joe Young.

“Without testing the Cybertruck, I can’t comment on the effectiveness of its challenging areas,” he emphasizes. “Right now, our concerns about its design are limited to what we’ve discussed with other EVs. It’s very heavy, and it’s very fast.”

Due to what it calls the Cybertruck’s “unusual design,” the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) tells WIRED that it “doesn’t want to predict” whether the model will get DfT-mandated IVA certification.

“The IVA system was designed for (small and medium-sized businesses) that work in vehicle modification or export,” he continued in a statement to WIRED, “and was developed long before the Cybertruck was born.”

Extrapolating from the DfT’s well-chosen reviews, Charalambous may be wasting his time and money trying to pass the IVA test. “The vehicle contains technology that cannot be designed to comply with the regulations in force in the UK,” warns a DfT statement.

In his videos, Charalambous drives through southeast England in his Albanian-made Cybertruck. If caught doing this by an experienced police officer, Charalambous could be fined. “A UK resident cannot drive a car displaying foreign number plates in the UK,” confirmed the statement from the DfT, stating that “a rental car must not be driven on foreign plates by a UK resident, except to and from (annual safety checks. and a) IVA held already (elected).”

In his third video, Charalambous said he was allowed to drive his Cybertruck in the UK because an Albanian dealer gave him a green card, an international insurance certificate issued in Albania. Again, this is a denial says the DfT: “Driving an unregistered vehicle can invalidate any insurance policy.”

Only time and a lot of money will tell if Charalambous can get his Cybertruck registered in the UK, but odds are against it.