The Air Force plans to obliterate Tesla Cybertrucks with missiles because there’s concern that terrorists might start using the hulking vehicles.
However, a Wyoming automotive expert questioned whether evildoers would ever be desperate enough to try attacking in Cybertrucks.
The Air Force is seeking at least two Cybertrucks for target practice at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, according to recently posted contracting documents.
According to the document, the Cybertrucks have features that could make them formidable if they ever fell into the hands of unspecified enemies.
A study “revealed that the Cybertruck’s aggressively angular and futuristic design, paired with its unpainted stainless steel exoskeleton, sets it apart from competitors typically using painted steel or aluminum bodies,” the documents state.
“Additionally, its 48V electrical architecture provides superior power and efficiency, a feature that rivals are only beginning to develop. Extensive internet searches and outreach by (redacted) found no vehicles with features comparable to those of the Cybertruck,” according to the documents.
Staying One Step Ahead
It makes sense that the military is staying a step or two ahead of potential foes by examining and shooting at vehicles or equipment they might use, retired Air Force Colonel Tucker Fagan, told Cowboy State Daily.
The Air Force is always looking ahead to “what the threat is out there,” said Fagan, the former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Nuclear Section under President Ronald Reagan and the former commander of F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne.
He added that for such purposes, the military might not need to buy vehicles “off the showroom floor” at top dollar but instead might look for used Cybertrucks at discounted prices.
The contracting documents state that: “The vehicles shall be intact. All glass and mirrors shall be intact. The vehicles do not need to run, but all wheels need to roll (i.e usable tires). All fluids shall be drained prior to delivery.”
Battle Ready?
Automotive writer Aaron Turpen of Cheyenne told Cowboy State Daily that he’s skeptical about how much value Cybertrucks would be in battle or for terrorist attacks.
“It’s hilarious” that the Air Force is going to blow some up, he said.
“They don’t go as far as they said they would, and they aren’t bulletproof, like they claimed,” he said.
Wyoming firearms experts previously told Cowboy State Daily that a 2023 video of a robot shooting a Cybertruck with a Thompson submachine gun didn’t convince them that it would truly be “bulletproof” against high-powered rifle rounds.
Reports of Cybertruck battery fires being practically impossible to put out are probably exaggerated, Turpen added.
Terrorists wanting to set an unquenchable blaze with a Cybertruck might be foiled by firefighters who know effective countermeasures, such as soaking the fire with the proper foam, he said.
Terrorists and ragtag paramilitary groups might be better off just sticking with the old standby – compact or mid-sized pickups with machine guns or rocket launchers mounted in the beds, he said.
Turpen joked that some models already come in “ISIS brown.”
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
