We already know that Tesla’s Cybertruck fares pretty well in a hail of bullets, but how would it do if a missile landed on it?
Our guess is, not very well. But the U.S. Air Force wants to find out for sure.
Why? Because it believes that the Cybertruck’s relatively affordable price and its tough exterior could make it popular among rag-tag armies looking for mainstream vehicles that are made of sterner stuff.
Online magazine The War Zone has happened upon information revealing that the Air Force recently requested a batch of 33 vehicles that it wants to use for target practice. The shopping list includes sedans, pick-ups, and SUVs, though only Tesla’s electric pickup was mentioned by name. And it asked for three of them.
At some point in the not-too-distant future, the purchased Cybertrucks will be driven to a spot on the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico before being blasted sky high by an array of weapons. The damage will to the pick up will then be carefully assessed.
“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 Air Force said in a document seen by The War Zone.
The document continues: “Its 48V electrical architecture provides superior power and efficiency, a feature that rivals are only beginning to develop. Extensive internet searches and industry outreach by [redacted] found no vehicles with features comparable to those of the Cybertruck.”
At its launch event in November 2023, Tesla boss Elon Musk said the Cybertruck was “apocalypse-proof.” While the comment was delivered with tongue firmly in cheek, Musk was highlighting that the pickup was designed to be more robust than others in its class.
In a video shown at the Cybertruck’s launch, Tesla demonstrated the vehicle’s ability to handle a hail of bullets. The stunt began with a Tommy gun before moving onto a Glock, an MP5SD submachine gun, and a shotgun. And the vehicle did very well. Not sure it’ll stand up to something like an AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missile, though.
Data suggests that Tesla sold around 50,000 Cybertrucks between November 2023 and February 2025, well short of the automaker’s expectations. The pressure on sales have been attributed to various factors, including steeper-than-expected pricing, apprehension over multiple recalls, and damage to Tesla’s brand perception amid Musk’s political controversies.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.