US military finds a good use for Tesla Cybertruck: missile target practice

Elon Musk has agelong bragged that the Tesla Cybertruck is simply a uniquely impervious conveyance acknowledgment to its stainless alloy assemblage and “bulletproof” windows, calling it “an armored unit bearer from the future.” Now that declare will beryllium put to the trial by nary different than the US Air Force, which intends to usage the Cybertruck for immoderate target practice.

In documents uncovered by a publication called The War Zone (great name, btw), the Air Force says it wants to bargain 2 Cybertrucks for “target conveyance training formation trial events.” The logic fixed is that America’s adversaries could activity to usage the Cybertruck for subject purposes astatine immoderate constituent successful the future, and the Air Force wants to spot if it tin rustle them up.

The Cybertrucks were requested arsenic portion of a batch of 33 vehicles, including sedans, pickups, SUVs, and bongo trucks, that the Air Force wants to usage for target believe astatine the White Sands Missile Range successful New Mexico. The Cybertruck was the brand-specific conveyance to beryllium cited successful the documents, which speaks to the military’s concerns astir its imaginable arsenic a force vehicle.

The Air Force cited immoderate of the unsocial characteristics of the Cybertruck successful the documents outlining its procurement request, including the vehicles’ “stainless alloy exoskeleton” and its 48V electrical architecture.

Of course, Musk himself has ruminated successful the past astir the Cybertruck’s imaginable arsenic a subject vehicle. According to Electrek, the arguable billionaire brought up the motortruck astatine an Air Force Space Pitch Day arena successful San Francisco successful 2019. And earlier this year, the US Department of State included an bid for $400 cardinal worth of armored Teslas successful its 2025 procurement forecast — which galore took to beryllium an bid for Cybertrucks, successful particular. The trucks were said to beryllium nether information arsenic armored unit carriers for US diplomats, NPR reported.

But since then, hype astir the Cybertruck has cooled considerably. Though Musk had predicted he would beryllium capable to waste complete 500,000 Cybertrucks annually, Tesla only sold little than 50,000 past year. And acknowledgment to Tesla’s — and Musk’s — ensuing marque crisis, its starting to look for illustration income of the Cybertruck are apt to autumn moreover further.

But hey, if the Air Force goes done pinch its purchase, that’s 2 much trucks connected the ledger for the company. And if the motortruck blows up really nice, location could beryllium much of a early for the Cybertruck arsenic subject target. Maybe the Navy would want to trial Musk’s claims astir the Cybertruck’s amphibiousness earlier launching a fewer torpedos astatine it.