Will the Cybertruck be allowed to drive in Europe?

[CyberMoose]

But what is the real problem with a CT in Europe? As others have pointed out, it's not a size problem F150 Raptor is bigger than CT and it's legal. The "pedestrian safety" argument can be valid, but it all depends on what they are going to evaluate the real thing in the end (just like the side mirrors or the windshield wiper).
What I understand, the real problem is CT weight. If a car + its full payload is more thatn 3.5 tons, then you can't use the B driving license, but you will need a C driving license (that very few people have). CT should be over 2.5 tons (and the 3 motor version, having 2 battery packs, should be over3 tons). So, the point of making it "smaller" should be about making it lighter.
This is all to my understanding that, in facts, could be wrong.

So I don't know really much about European regulations, so I won't really say much about why it would or would not be fine the way it is to at least be legal. We do need to consider how much it will actually sell in Europe and what changes could make it sell better. It's no mystery that larger vehicles are more popular in North America and while i'm sure the full size Cybertruck would sell in Europe, a smaller version would probably sell better. I see a lot of comments from both people in North America and Europe saying they would want a smaller version, and I expect to see a smaller version sold all over the world including North America. Whether or not the full size Cybertruck will go to Europe anytime soon, I don't really have enough information have an opinion on that. But I have visited Europe many times and I personally wouldn't want to drive a vehicle that seems like it will be 5.88m long and 2.13m wide, whether or not it's legal.

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[Suskis]

I thought that the easiest way to make it smaller, shorter and lighter is to make it a 3 seater. In Europe, most families have 1 or no kids. But, anyway, CT is an utility truck: it's not something you are expected to use to use for going shopping

 

[CyberMoose]

I thought that the easiest way to make it smaller, shorter and lighter is to make it a 3 seater. In Europe, most families have 1 or no kids. But, anyway, CT is an utility truck: it's not something you are expected to use to use for going shopping

Not many people think like that in North America. My first vehicle growing up was a truck and I didn't have any utility use for it when I was in university or high school, I just really liked my truck. Pick up trucks are so common in North America that you won't find many busy parking lots that doesn't have at least one truck, and if you take a look in the back, it probably doesn't have anything that wouldn't fit in a car. I'm not saying that's all people but people with trucks really like their trucks whether they are hauling stuff or just going to work, or getting groceries. Personally I will have some utility uses for my Cybertruck, but I'm also going to be selling my Cadillac because this will be my vehicle for everything.

 

[Crissa]

If you regularly carry something larger than would fit in a car, you have a truck. But that doesn't mean you can afford a second car or trailer or have a place to put them.

So trucks are called into duties like... going to the grocery store.

-Crissa

 

[Laurent]

I really hope that the CT can make it to Europe. I think it is possible otherwise why we - in Europe -, are able to pre-order one? It doesn´t make sense otherwise. Tesla lets you pre-order one and than say, finally it is not possible!

 

[CybertronUK]

But what is the real problem with a CT in Europe? As others have pointed out, it's not a size problem F150 Raptor is bigger than CT and it's legal. The "pedestrian safety" argument can be valid, but it all depends on what they are going to evaluate the real thing in the end (just like the side mirrors or the windshield wiper).
What I understand, the real problem is CT weight. If a car + its full payload is more thatn 3.5 tons, then you can't use the B driving license, but you will need a C driving license (that very few people have). CT should be over 2.5 tons (and the 3 motor version, having 2 battery packs, should be over3 tons). So, the point of making it "smaller" should be about making it lighter.
This is all to my understanding that, in facts, could be wrong.

I believe the weight of the battery is excluded.

From our government website

Unladen weight
The unladen weight of any vehicle is the weight of the vehicle when it’s not carrying any passengers, goods or other items.

It includes the body and all parts normally used with the vehicle or trailer when it’s used on a road.

It doesn’t include the weight of:

• fuel
• batteries in an electric vehicle - unless it’s a mobility scooter or powered wheelchair

 

[CybertronUK]

• fuel
• batteries in an electric vehicle - unless it’s a mobility scooter or powered wheelchair

I know some of us are getting on in years, but I don't think it will be classified as a mobility scooter! ??

 

[madquadbiker]

I'm slightly losing faith that we'll get the US version as publicised over here. I went back on to the Cybertruck UK web page yesterday and saw a disclaimer at the bottom I had never noticed before:

"*All configurations are US specification only. Global specifications will be developed at a later date based on demand."

I could see the global specification being the mini one and I don't want that at all...

You may still be able to do a personal import of USA version subject to the rules at the time, but it'll be a pain and the charging plug is different!

If there’s only the import route for us Brits then Japan or Australia would be the way to go.

 

[CyberMoose]

I really hope that the CT can make it to Europe. I think it is possible otherwise why we - in Europe -, are able to pre-order one? It doesn´t make sense otherwise. Tesla lets you pre-order one and than say, finally it is not possible!

I was curious about that as well. I was thinking that sometime after the deliveries have started for the Cybertruck, maybe after the first year but possibly even sooner, that Tesla would announce a European model for the Cybertruck and those that have a preorder would be able to keep their place in line.

 

[Luke42]

That article is click bait. It claims that the hood of vehicles must absorb energy from pedestrian impacts which exactly zero vehicles are designed to do. It doesn't reference the supposed EU regulations. BTW how pedestrian friendly is a chrome plated steel bumper and why wouldn't the cybertruck bumper be just as pedestrian friendly. That person who wrote that article never saw a cybertruck and quotes a random person that claims the truck would need to be redesign. FUD

A summary of Euro NCAP Vulnerable Road Users regulation is here:
https://www.euroncap.com/en/vehicle...xplained/vulnerable-road-user-vru-protection/

These regulations have been in place since around 2015, with many new-car designs incorporating the features earlier (due to the 3-5 year design-sales cycle).

You can see the impact of these regulations on world-car designs all around you. Look for cars where the hood seam is on the side, rather than on the top.

For instance, our 2016 Honda Civic has a typical pedestrian-safe hood design:
https://www.caranddriver.com/photos...-0l-manual-instrumented-test-gallery/?slide=1

My 2010 GMC Sierra is a US-centric design, and you can see the edges of the hood are solid:
https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/gmc/sierra-1500/2010
There's nothing pedestrian-safe about the 2010 GMC Sierra.

The 2020 Ford Ranger is a world truck, and it has a typical pedestrian-safe hood design:
https://www.caranddriver.com/ford/ranger-2020

The 2020 Chevy Colorado, on the other hand, is also a world truck. It does not have the pedestrian-safe hood. Maybe they've found an alternate means of compliance (the Euro NCAP VRU standard specifies the tests, not how the design passes the tests), or maybe there is some reason why these regulations don't apply to the Colorado?

Anyway, these regulations aren't new and you can see their impact all around you, if you know what to look for.

The issue is that the Cybertruck prototype does not appear to have the design features one would expect to address these regulations. But it may be possible to maintain the look of the CT while passing the tests. But, since I didn't see any provision for windshield wipers on the prototype (required by both European's NCAP and the USA's FMVSS regulations), I expect to see some changes to the Cybertruck's front end before production.

I'm not an expert on vehicle homologation and/or regulatory compliance. I'm just a nerd who remembers a lot of what I read, so someone who is more deeply steeped in the topic might be able to clear it up.

 

[Luke42]

And even so, none of the larger trucks (of which there are, as I pointed out, available in Europe) take into account pedestrian safety.

From what I recall, the F-150 is available in Europe, but it's very rare to have one as a private vehicle.

Maybe it's considered a commercial truck there?

 

[Suskis]

About the pedestrian safety: shouldn't auto brake system + self driving be enough to qualify CT as safer than normal cars with smoother edges? No hit is better than a soft hit!

 

[Luke42]

About the pedestrian safety: shouldn't auto brake system + self driving be enough to qualify CT as safer than normal cars with smoother edges? No hit is better than a soft hit!

This is what the Euro NCAP people have to say about automatic emergency braking (AEB) and pedestrian safety:
https://cdn.euroncap.com/media/43381/euro-ncap-aeb-vru-test-protocol-v204.pdf

I've only skimmed it, but I haven't seen anything which indicates that this automatic emergency braking replaces the need for a vehicle to pass the other tests. I'm currently under the impression that the AEB standards are boolean-and, not boolean-xor, but I don't really know.

I just know how to find specifications for my real job, and the car industry seems to publish things the same way my industry does.

EDIT: This is what they have to say about how the AEB score interacts with the regular score:

AEB VRU scoring is conditional to the total points achieved in subsystem tests, i.e. the sum of pedestrian Headform, Upper Legform & Lower Legform scores. If the subsystem total test score is lower than 22 points, no points are available for AEB VRU, regardless whether the system is fitted and would achieve a good score.

This means that Euro NCAP will not accept AEB in place of other safety features, but you can run up the score by including it.

 

[Wolfythelobo]

Elon said the actual production CT will be smaller 5% all around.

 

[CyberMoose]

Elon said the actual production CT will be smaller 5% all around.

He did say this. He then announced that it only needed to be 3% smaller so that it would fit in a normal garage. Not to long after he announced that even 3% smaller would make it too small and that they weren't going to change the size.

Which seems like that means that to prototype which was about 84" (213cm) will be the width and 231" (5.88m) will be the length.