The Tesla Cybertruck has arrived in Israel, and the country’s Ministry of Transportation is moving to halt the acceptance of the all-electric pickup at licensing garages near its ports.
The Cybertruck is currently available in North America, but some units are overseas on behalf of Tesla, which is showing the pickup off in Asia and Europe.
It appears that someone has potentially purchased the vehicle and had it shipped to Israel, but just because it’s there does not mean it will be allowed to operate on public roads.
The single Tesla Cybertruck unit has made its way to the country, but it is hitting speed bumps as the Ministry is communicating with licensing institutes because of a specific detail that the automaker marketed for it: its resistance to gunfire.
Although the Cybertruck is not bulletproof, Tesla has flexed the vehicle’s 1.9mm-thick stainless steel super alloy, which is capable of stopping some rounds. Tesla promoted content on its YouTube channel and during the vehicle’s delivery event last November that showed its ability to essentially resist gunfire as it keeps bullets from penetrating the exoskeleton and making their way into the cabin:
Tesla posts behind the scenes footage of Cybertruck’s “bullet test” demo
This has evidently caused some concern for the Israeli Ministry of Transportation.
According to a report from Israeli tech blog CTech, the transportation ministry has communicated with inspection authorities that the Cybertruck needs to be inspected before a special permit is given that would allow it to be driven on roads:
“State procedures require that personally imported vehicles undergo a formal inspection at a licensing garage after leaving the port. However, the Ministry of Transportation has objections in the specific case of the Tesla Cybertruck due to its resistance to gunfire. Currently, a special permit is required to drive a bulletproof vehicle, and the Ministry has chosen not to grant this permit until the inspection is completed.”
The Ministry also gave this statement:
“Regarding the Tesla Cybertruck, if the importer turns to you to perform initial standardization and registration, we ask that you not accept it until further notice. This is at the request of the Ministry of Transportation’s management until we clarify the issue of protection against gunfire.”
Before the pickup even made its way into customer hands, CEO Elon Musk talked about “Al Capone-style” bulletproof testing on the Cybertruck after a unit with a significant number of bullet holes was spotted on the road. Musk said an entire drum magazine of Tommy gun ammo was shot at the pickup.
“No bullets penetrated into the passenger compartment,” Musk added.
We emptied the entire drum magazine of a Tommy gun into the driver door Al Capone style. No bullets penetrated into the passenger compartment.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 20, 2023
That Cybertruck was on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
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