Cybertruck banned from sale in Europe: and yet!

The Cybertruck is already on the market in North America, while it is currently banned in Europe because it does not meet certain safety standards.

Indeed, the EU requires that any protruding part of a car be rounded, with a minimum radius of 3.2 millimeters. This provision is intended to minimize damage to vulnerable road users in the event of a collision. With its sharp, hard stainless steel nose, the Cybertruck does not meet this rule.

In addition, it is too heavy for ordinary motorists. With a B license, for example, as a European, you are not allowed to drive a vehicle with a maximum authorized mass of more than 3.5 tons. Empty, the Cybertruck already weighs 3 tons, which means that it immediately exceeds this limit when loaded. Its manual indicates that it has a maximum authorized mass of 4 tons.

And yet we see some Cybertrucks circulating and registered in Europe!

Prince Albert II of Monaco unveils the Cybertruck

The first European to drive the Tesla Cybertruck on open roads in Europe is Prince Albert II of Monaco in June 2024.

Then, a first Tesla Cybertruck is on sale in Europe at an electrifying price of €356,950.

Cybertruck registered in Europe

But what is attracting the most attention, and Testla is taking great pleasure in thumbing its nose at the European administration, is the buzz surrounding the appearance last weekend of a Cybertruck with European license plates in the Netherlands. The vehicle, confirmed by Tesla engineer Wes Morrill on Platform X (formerly Twitter), had an Albanian license plate and was photographed on a highway in Eindhoven. The owner of the vehicle is rapper Kosso, who recently imported the Cybertruck from the Czech Republic, where a clever tinkerer was able to register the vehicle thanks to some administrative subterfuge.

And this is how he did it:

The car was put on the road thanks to the individual type approval (IVA), issued in this case by the German testing authority TüV Nord. This is a much less strict variant than the classic type approval, which in principle applies to all car models entering service. With regard to safety and emission standards, the IVA imposes virtually no requirements. A car that receives such an individual type approval in one EU country can then be exported to other EU countries.

In this particular case, the type approval office noted a lower weight, with the maximum permissible mass remaining below 3.5 tonnes on paper. The body shape also did not pose a problem for the type approval authority.

This opens the door to other Cybertrucks.

Despite the regulatory hurdles, Tesla has clear plans to make the Cybertruck known internationally. The vehicle has already been on a world tour to several countries in Asia and Europe, including China, Japan, Great Britain and Germany. Tesla is thus going to conquer the world...

"Let's occupy the world"