Do you remember the glass shattering saga from the Cybertruck launch? Of course, you do. How can one forget that embarrassing moment on stage when the whole world was watching the much-anticipated event live, right? It sent everyone into splits but garnered so much hype that even non-auto enthusiasts were talking about it. Tesla: 1, The Public: 0.
Not the point here, though. The Cybertruck might boast armored glass windows, but what about normal windows on normal cars? A video on YouTube has appeared wherein the admin of CarHax decided to use ‘weapons of destruction’ on a standard Volkswagen Golf’s glass. You will be shocked to see how much abuse it can withstand.
Even the Glass on a Standard VW Golf 4 Can Withstand A Steel Ball Hit
He repeatedly threw it at the rear-window glass with increasing force and the glass withstood the impact every time. For the next test, the creator – let’s call him Thor from now on - brought out a hammer weighing about three pounds.
This time, too, the glass absorbed all the impact despite being hit repeatedly. Finally, Thor used a ten-pound sledgehammer to smash the glass and he was able to break the glass on the very first attempt.
That’s A Neat Hack
He soon replaced it with a new original VW Golf glass and pasted a 1.5-mm metalized tint film on it. Thor even applied four mm of extra safety film on it before putting the window back in its place.
The glass now literally becomes indestructible and knocks Thor a few steps backward. If you look carefully, both the door and the glass flex to absorb the impact. The door beading/seals also helped absorb that impact and sent the whole car into a tizzy.
Trying To Unravel The Mystery
Of course, there will be a difference, but we don’t see the need for that sort of glass on civilian cars when a simple hack can provide enough added safety. Another thing you notice here is that the Golf’s glass is curved, whereas the Cybertruck’s is flat. This could’ve had a huge impact on how much resistance a glass can take. Another theory suggests that when the sledgehammer hit the truck’s body, it damaged the edge of the glass which finally gave up when the steel ball was thrown at it. Whatever you have say, I believe that this was a marketing strategy and Tesla and Musk nailed it.
Musk Is On A Roll
Following the Q3 results, Tesla's stocks showed consistent growth. Since October 2019 up to the launch of the Cybertruck, they went up by 40 percent and were trading at around $350. When the Cybertruck was launched, the share prices dipped down a bit mainly due to the negative criticisms about the truck which even included the glass-fail saga.
However, the shares quickly recovered and within a month, prices reached an all-time high. At the time of writing, the TSLA shares were trading at $420 in the NASDAQ stock market. Musk saw the funny side of it and tweeted: 'Whoa... the stock is so high lol.' According to a Reuters report (???), prices went up after the company secured major financing from China.
Final Thoughts
Coming back to the experiment here, it’ll be interesting to see how Cybertruck proceeds with the window issues. When both windows were smashed at the Cybertruck’s launch, Musk quipped that 'there’s room for improvement.' Moreover, people are now having doubts whether the Cybertruck’s glass windows will be armored or not. Shouldn't Tesla offer a lifetime warranty policy on the windows to stand by its claim? Share your thoughts about the Volkswagen Golf’s windows being as strong as – or, even stronger than – the Tesla Cybertruck’s windows in the comments section below.