People are speculating that Elon Musk and his staff deliberately contrived the failed demonstration of the strength of the steel body and armored glass of his new Cybertruck to draw attention and generate viral memes on social media.
Musk’s attempt to demonstrate the strength of the window of the Cybertruck appeared to have ended in a fiasco, but the fact that the moment helped to generate more publicity has sparked speculation that it was done on purpose.
Millions of social media users shared clips of the incident and according to media reports, Tesla was able to get 200,000 deposits on the truck.
Several Twitter users have been commenting on the social media platform that the incident was perfect for a viral meme and that it could not have been an accident.
Anyone else suspicious the broken windows of the @Tesla #Cybertruck was a put-on? Staged for viral attention? I’m guessing it could be.
— Jason Hill (@jasonerichill13) November 22, 2019
Everyone is talking about Tesla's #Cybertruck. The "failure" was staged and it worked.@elonmusk marketing genius after Jobs.
— $DJIBRIL (@djibrilww) November 22, 2019
Am I the only one who thinks this was abs staged? Musk is renowned for his preparedness level. I cannot imagine not having rehearsed the ball-throwing act hundreds of times before. #Cybertruck #tesla #ElonMusk
— The Legend (@AgiosPan) November 23, 2019
If you think about it, the glass breaking on the @Tesla Cybertruck has generated much stronger PR and interest than if it didn’t break during demo. Staged breaking of glass maybe ??
— Naqqash Jaleel (@naqdaman) November 23, 2019
Despite the speculation on social media, Musk appeared genuinely embarrassed and upset by the incident, and TMZ reported that he hadn’t expected the window to shatter.
Musk took to social media soon after the failed demonstration to explain that he and his staff tested the window before the public demonstration by throwing a steel ball at it and that the glass did not shatter.
To back up his claim, he posted a video showing Tesla’s chief designer Franz von Holzhausen, throwing a steel ball at the window just before the public demonstration.
Franz throws steel ball at Cybertruck window right before launch. Guess we have some improvements to make before production haha. pic.twitter.com/eB0o4tlPoz
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2019
He also later explained that a tiny crack occurred where the steel body of the truck was first struck with a sledgehammer. But no one noticed the crack at the time. He claimed the crack created a weakness in the body of the truck that caused the window to crack when the steel ball was hurled at it.
“Sledgehammer impact on door cracked the base of the glass, which is why the steel ball didn’t bounce off,” Musk wrote on Twitter. “Should have done steel ball on window, then sledgehammer the door. Next time.”
Yup. Sledgehammer impact on door cracked base of glass, which is why steel ball didn’t bounce off. Should have done steel ball on window, *then* sledgehammer the door. Next time …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2019
However, many Twitter users did not find Musk’s explanation convincing and many responded with sarcastic comments.
hahaha
Elon just flailing right now, he forgot that the back window also broke
— I've Heard Worse From Better (@NatronymousMonk) November 25, 2019
Did that impact the back window too?
— Dana "Physical Distancing" Hull ??? (@danahull) November 25, 2019
We all know real reason is that Franz ate Spinach before reveal.#Franzcantstop
— Steve Bareman (@SteveBareman) November 25, 2019
Forbes reported that after the failed demonstration, Tesla’s share price fell by 6 percent. This was equivalent to a loss of $768 million in a single day.