The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the Tesla Cybertruck a high pickup safety rating. The formal result applies to trucks built after Tesla changed a front casting in April 2025. Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill said the change was for manufacturability, and that Tesla’s own crash tests did not move.
Key facts
- What changed: A front-casting / underbody revision around April 2025, aimed at how the truck is built, not a new trim name.
- Who said it: Wes Morrill, Tesla’s Cybertruck lead, on X — Tesla’s internal tests showed no crash-result difference; IIHS officially tested the later version.
- What IIHS rates: Overlap-front, side, roof, head restraints, and front crash prevention. Later write-ups of the rating still point back to that production cutoff.
- What this is not: Proof that every 2024 Cybertruck is unrated junk. It is a lab-protocol cutoff.
Manufacturing change vs safety story
IIHS only publishes what it tested. If Tesla changed a structural casting, the institute’s published Top Safety Pick+ line will often start at that build date. Morrill’s point was narrower: Tesla ran the old and new castings and did not see a different crash result. That is a company test claim, not an IIHS re-test of pre-April trucks.
Official rating language belongs on IIHS. Tesla does not publish the casting drawing. Buyers who need a documented rating should use the VIN / build date IIHS lists, not a photo of a 2024 truck.
FAQ
Is a pre-April 2025 Cybertruck unsafe?
Morrill said Tesla’s tests matched. IIHS’s published badge still follows the trucks it actually crashed. Those are different statements.
Does this change FSD?
No. It is a body-structure / manufacturing note.
Cybertruck owners tracking build dates should read the IIHS listing, not a marketing recap. Tesery covers Tesla hardware news for owners; this is a ratings footnote, not an accessory story.
