Last month, a Tesla Cybertruck prototype was spotted driving on a California highway with dozens of bullet marks on its driver’s side stainless steel exterior.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained on X that the Cybertruck had successfully endured some Al Capone-style bulletproof testing from a Tommy Gun – the 1920s Thompson submachine gun that was the weapon of choice for interwar gangsters.
While on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast yesterday, Elon Musk mentioned the unusual test, which prompted the host to ask him if the Cybertruck can sustain an attack from a hunting bow.
“Can I try with an arrow?” Joe Rogan asked. “I bet I can get in there.” Musk took Rogan up on the $1 bet. “We can try right now if you want,” he said, and Rogan sent for his 90-pound compound bow that shoots 525-grain arrows at 300 feet per second (205 mph) to make the impromptu test possible.
Musk let Rogan shoot an arrow into the same Cybertruck he had driven to the studio, and the test went well for the stainless steel-bodied electric truck. Despite using one of the most powerful bows available, the arrow simply ricocheted from the rear door of the Cybertruck, flattening its tip and leaving a small dent on the panel.
Rogan was really impressed with the performance of the Cybertruck’s stainless steel door panel. “So, we just shot an arrow into it, and it barely scratched it. It was probably moving 275 feet a second, that was a 545 grain arrow, that’s impressive. It just destroyed the broad head, the broad head flattened at the tip, and then the arrow blew apart. Amazing,” Rogan said.
At this point, Musk revealed that Tesla will show a cool video at the November 30 handover event emptying an entire magazine of a Tommy Gun – about 50 rounds – as well as shooting a 45mm shotgun and a 9mm gun on the side of the Cybertruck.
Musk did note that the Cybertruck’s windows are not bulletproof in order to allow them to go up and down. If they were armored, they would be too thick and would have to be fixed. However, he suggested that the windows can be optionally bulletproof.
“Well, you can make anything bulletproof if you want,” he said. It’s not clear whether he meant Tesla would offer bulletproof windows as an option or it will be available from vehicle armoring specialists.