The Tesla cybertruck is not bulletproof; and it's better for it

"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer) 12/09/2019 at 01:16 • Filed to: None

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Bulletproof vehicles are a touchy topic in the world; mostly because they tend to empower the person driving “it” and they represent a serious hazard; Bulletproof vehicles are harder to drive, and in the case of an accident cause way more damage than regular cars. In countries like Brazil and Mexico where bulletproof vehicles are widespread; search and rescue teams need to be specially trained to extract people out of crashed bulletproof vehicles.

Not only would a cybertruck fail any test to deem it bulletproof; but it’d be a worse car if it did. (YES I CALLED IT A CAR BECAUSE IT’S UNIBODY).

An introduction to armored vehicles

The Justice Department, the German Institute for Standardization, the Underwriter’s laboratories, the Mexican Official Normative, and other institutes rate bulletproof vehicles. Typically, you will find most vehicles sold to the public adhering either to the VR4 or VR7 standards (Colloquially known as Nivel 3 and Nivel 5 here in Mexico). VR4 is the lowest standard considered to resist impacts from firearms.

In order to pass VR4 standards, the vehicle must resist impacts from a .44 magnum or a 9mm submachine gun from a distance of 10m ; the impacts must be at most 90mm from each other, at an angle perpendicular to the surface, and there must be no penetration so long as that distance is respected. To achieve this, two armors are used; opaque and transparent.

Transparent armoring to VR4 specification consists of 21 to 30mm thick panes made up of many layers of glass and polycarbonate; with the outer layer being glass, and the inner layer looking into the cockpit being polycarbonate. This is to reduce the probability of shattered glass in the cockpit in case of an attack. Transparent armoring is costly, hard to make, bulky and very heavy... usually the biggest issue in bulletproof cars. which is why bulletproof vehicles usually have reduced visibility:

The thick frames around the windows reduce weight and make the ballistic seal easier to acomplish

Opaque armoring on the other hand is usually kevlar, ceramics, or some other mixes of fibers. Opaque armoring is very light, cheap and many police departments option in on their vehicles; famously the Ford Police Utility can be optioned with opaque armoring. Police spec SEATs in Europe have the option to spec this armoring as well as a 21mm front windshield.

Steel is not used on VR4 vehicles, unless it’s a critical area like pillars and window frames.

Why does Elon care?

The biggest hazard for bulletproof vehicles is that the center of mass is raised considerably; as transparent armoring is heaviest and could add anywhere from 200 to 600kg to a VR4 armored vehicle depending on the amount of glass it has.

Teslas are known for having very low centers of mass because of the battery packs; but in the case of the cybertruck; the battery pack is much higher relative to the wheels than how it is in regular Teslas because of the required ground clearance. The cybertruck’s center of mass is very likely above the top of the wheels, and adding the necessary glass to make it truly armored to a VR4 standard while keeping the panoramic window roof would make the truck much harder to drive, and very possibly kick the weight above three metric tons. For typical consumers this is unacceptable.

Ignoring of course, the opaque section of the armor; which would need to resist multiple impacts from weapons that might not be 9mm pistols. Considering it’s stainless steel; there’s a chance that -from a great distance- a cybertruck would be quasi-armored... but almost like the equivalent of carrying a thick book on your person and expecting it to stop a bullet.

Elon’s blabbing aside, the cybertruck’s great carrying capacity, torque, and the straight edges of the windows make it a great candidate for a bulletproof vehicle; and I will not be surprised to see people who usually buy trucks like the RAM 1500 and the Ford Raptor switching over to a Tesla for their next armored vehicle.

But it will not resist bullet impacts from the factory.

facw > Spanfeller is a twat 12/09/2019 at 01:29

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So Elon did make the claim that the stainless will stop 9mm rounds. I don’t know how close that test is to the certification test, but it’s there. The claim is that the Cybertruck’s bodywork is considerably thicker than traditional automotive bodywork because it is unibody, and that exterior skin is actually being used to provide structure.

I’m sure someone will think it’s worth the youtube views to shoot one up once they are out, but I guess we’ll have to wait until then.

Spanfeller is a twat > facw 12/09/2019 at 01:36

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a 9mm from ten meters away is the low end of the VR4 certification. The distance is OK, and the material sure is very sturdy, but I’m not sure it would resist a Magnum....

atfsgeoff > facw 12/09/2019 at 01:46

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The Cybertruck is spec’ed at 3mm-thick stainless steel.

AR500 hardened armor plate steel needs to be 3/16" or 4.7mm thick to reliably stop 9mm parabellum; stainless would probably need to be a mite thicker still.

DipodomysDeserti > facw 12/09/2019 at 02:18

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You can tell who the target market is when he brags about it being able to stop 9mm rounds...

DipodomysDeserti > Spanfeller is a twat 12/09/2019 at 02:19

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If someone is shooting at you with a 9mm  handgun from 10m away, you can just run them over. An unarmored ICE car would give you an advantage as 9mm will not penetrate an engine block.

DipodomysDeserti > atfsgeoff 12/09/2019 at 02:20

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And even if it is thicker, you’re only stopping 9mm rounds...which a regular engine block will do just fine.

Spanfeller is a twat > DipodomysDeserti 12/09/2019 at 02:21

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a gun would break an internal combustion engine; in fact most VR7 cars have an armored engine bay.

Surely a 9mm can’t penetrate the block, but it can damage key components and render the car inoperable. 

DipodomysDeserti > Spanfeller is a twat 12/09/2019 at 02:32

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I guess I figure if you’re only up armoring to stop 9mm rounds, you’re main concern is pretty crime, in which case you’re just trying to avoid being shot.

If you’re worried about people setting up ambushes and disabling your vehicle, you need to protect against a lot more than 9mm

Poor_Sh > DipodomysDeserti 12/09/2019 at 07:21

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Hehe pretty crime. 

Captain of the Enterprise > facw 12/09/2019 at 08:01

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The exterior skin being used to provide structure is a little troubling. If I get any dent in it am I then compromising the structural integrity? 

My bird IS the word > Spanfeller is a twat 12/09/2019 at 08:10

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No such thing as bullet proof, only bullet resistant.

facw > Captain of the Enterprise 12/09/2019 at 08:20

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Maybe! With Elon, who knows what’s real and what’s nonsense!

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > facw 12/09/2019 at 08:27

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Most of it is nonsense.

Spanfeller is a twat > My bird IS the word 12/09/2019 at 09:17

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It’s neither. 

Spanfeller is a twat > DipodomysDeserti 12/09/2019 at 09:20

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VR7 protects from M80 machine gun fire.

realistically though, hoping the engine block will protect you from an assailant in a petty crime situation is very optimistic... akin to the thick book situation I mentioned for the cybertruck

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > DipodomysDeserti 12/09/2019 at 09:21

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But it penetrates everything outside the engine block, like firewall and windshield. Your rad certainly isn’t bullet proof. I just have a hard time imagining a scenario where you need an armoured car but you’re attackers are outside of 10 metres   

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > My bird IS the word 12/09/2019 at 09:25

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Couple feet of sand and concrete is pretty bullet proof, just tricky to walk/drive  around with

thejustache > Spanfeller is a twat 12/09/2019 at 10:02

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Are there any stats on how many criminals in Mexico/Braz il use a 9mm over something else? VR4 seems more like a peace of mind/I ended up driving a street away from an active shooting thing rather than a “Someone directly tried to shoot me and I survived” thing. Not saying that it wouldn’t have it’s place, and thankfully I don’t live somewhere that I’ve had to worry about that so I’ve never had to do the mental gymnastics about what I’d want . I know 9mm is a very common round, but it’s far from the only round. And pretty much anything from a rifle would give VR4 a bad day

Spanfeller is a twat > thejustache 12/09/2019 at 11:22

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guns here are very expensive, so petty crime is carried out wi th 9mm guns. you wont see bigger bullets unless you’re talking about organized crime.

it’s mostly a disuation device. and most VR4 cars surpass the spec; much like the cybertruck can survive a a 9mm, a VR4 might survive an AK47 from afar. 

My bird IS the word > Spanfeller is a twat 12/09/2019 at 12:22

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Well, it would probably stop a .22.

Spanfeller is a twat > Captain of the Enterprise 12/09/2019 at 14:19

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Its a regular unibody really...

Spanfeller is a twat > MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) 12/09/2019 at 14:20

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Most cases attackers are far away; bulletproof glass explodes shards when shot; so an attacker at close range might be injured

This of course ignoring something more like a terror attack when it comes to a more resistant armor level like VR9 

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > Spanfeller is a twat 12/09/2019 at 15:29

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I was thinking more of a hostage taking type situation, you need to actually physically grab the person inside. I guess otherwise an ambush wouldn’t be that close to you