The Ford Pinto’s reputation is so toxic that the car has become shorthand for corporate negligence. Ford knew its design would make the car more dangerous and the company still went ahead with it. Its rear-mounted gas tank made it prone to fiery crashes, ultimately killing at least 27 people in confirmed fire-related incidents that could have been avoided.
But the Cybertruck seems to be even worse.
In just its first full year of release, there have already been 5 fire-related fatalities in the Cybertruck. But there were over 3 million Pintos ever made, compared to 34,438 Cybertrucks. Per car sold, that’s 17 times worse.
Safety doesn’t come easy
Tesla has long prided itself as a paragon of safety. But Cybertruck seems to be straying from that path. The car was only crash-tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) a couple of weeks ago (it fared decently, but it was deemed dangerous for pedestrians and drivers of other cars). However, when it comes to fires, the Cybertruck seems to be wildly unsafe.
What makes this even more terrifying is how fast these tragedies have piled up. With just over 30,000 cars, there have already been three major incidents that have led to five deaths:
- Piedmont, California: A catastrophic crash that ended in flames, killing three people.
- Baytown, Texas: Another crash, another fatal fire.
- Las Vegas, Nevada: A single-vehicle incident where the driver reportedly died before the flames—but it’s still counted by many because the body was found burned.
Even if you leave out the controversial Las Vegas incident that was deemed a suicide, that’s still more than 10 times worse than the Pinto, whose flawed gas tank design became infamous. The Pinto’s deadly flaw was known by Ford executives, who allegedly calculated it would be cheaper to settle lawsuits than to recall the car. That’s how it became a cultural flashpoint—a rolling symbol of corporate greed over safety. It’s not clear whether Cybertruck officials are aware of any fire-related issues with the car.
The data is not public
There are some caveats to this story. Tesla hasn’t actually said how many cars they sold; not exactly the transparency you’d hope for from the world’s most valuable carmaker.
The data comes from the publisher FuelArc who tried to estimate the number of sales. They pieced together numbers from news reports, public records, and even Patreon-funded sleuths. So the real number of cars sold could be higher (or lower).
This isn’t an EV problem—other electric trucks, like the Rivian R1T, haven’t been catching fire at anywhere near this rate. The same goes for the Ford F-150 Lightning. It seems like safety wasn’t that well implemented in the Cybertruck. It’s perhaps telling that Tesla recalled nearly all Cybertrucks due to a structural adhesive failure that could cause exterior panels to detach while driving. In 2024, over 10% of Cybertrucks were also recalled due to an issue that could cause them to randomly accelerate due to the pedals getting stuck. There have also been claims of shoddy wiring and a dangerous trunk.
This is especially troubling because Tesla fans—some of whom are fanatically loyal—often flood critics with threats and harassment. In fact, the original FuelArc article that broke this story received at least one death threat from an angry Cybertruck defender.
You don’t have to be a Cybertruck owner—or even a driver—to care about this. Every time a 6,800-pound electric truck gets into a collision and potentially bursts into flames, it puts first responders, passengers, and bystanders at risk.
For now, Tesla hasn’t commented directly on the fatality data. And without a deeper investigation into these incidents, we’re left with estimates. But until more testing is done, or Tesla implements significant changes, the Cybertruck’s legacy seems to mirror and overtake that of the Pinto.
“So, in conclusion, the Cybertruck is far more dangerous (by volume) that the historic poster child for corporate greed and grossly antagonistic design,” FuelArc concludes.
