Tesla Cybertruck Banned And Seized By Police In The U.K.

By Peter Lyon, Feb 20, 2025, 10:37am EST

The iconic Cybertruck was finally launched in the U.S. in 2019—after sizable delays—and has since generated a cult following. The controversial supposedly “bullet-proof” vehicle with the radical, edgy design, however, has generated intense debate outside of America.

Especially in the U.K. When British police pulled over and seized a Tesla Cybertruck near Manchester last month, as the driver did not possess the all-important “certificate of conformity,” it shone light on the vehicle’s serious safety shortcomings.

The bottom line is that the vehicle is actually banned in the U.K., which means it cannot be legally driven on public roads as it does not meet the country’s safety standards in many ways.

Tesla’s High Safety Score Means Nothing In U.K.

This news is controversial, however, as the Tesla truck has only just recently earned a five-star rating from America’s traffic authority, NHTSA—the highest score available. In the frontal barrier test, where a vehicle is slammed into a flat, rigid wall at 35 mph to simulate “a head-on collision between two similar sized vehicles,” the Cybertruck earned a five-star score for the driver and a four-star rating for the front passenger.

It also passed the side-impact and side pole intrusion test with flying colors. And finally, in the rollover test, the Tesla earned a four-star rating, most probably because the heavy battery pack mounted below the floor helped keep things planted.

There Are 5 Safety Issues, According To U.K. Authorities

But all that means nothing in the U.K. The Brits see things very differently. Let’s now look into vehicle design where five fundamental Tesla engineering decisions—from the Cybertruck’s bespoke stainless steel surfaces to its sharp edges and heavy curb weight—clash with U.K. safety standards, rendering the truck illegal. In a social media post, Greater Manchester Police commented, “Whilst this may seem trivial to some, legitimate concerns exist around the safety of other road users or pedestrians if they were involved in a collision with the Cybertruck.”

The Cybertruck’s Size And Weight

So what are the issues? Firstly, the Tesla truck tips the scales at a whopping 6,898 pounds, which means it’s too heavy for most U.K. motorists to legally operate in normal town situations. The vehicle’s size at 2.2 meters wide is prohibitive too as most town or country lanes are just 3 meters wide.

The Truck’s Sharp Edges

Secondly, the sharp edges make the car a pedestrian hazard. U.K. law requires a minimum of 3.2 millimeters (0.12 inch) wide rounded edges for any protruding parts. One look at this Tesla and U.K. accident and insurance assessors start having kittens. But those edges are actually one main reason why the car is banned. In fact, a core directive preventing Tesla from bringing the Cybertruck to the U.K., and the EU for that matter, is the law that bans the sale of passenger vehicles that “exhibit sharp external projections.” It kind of goes without saying, but one reason why the vast majority of vehicles on sale today have rounded edges is to give pedestrians a fighting chance in the event of a collision.

The Vehicle’s Rigidity In A Collision

Speaking of crashes, you don’t really want your car to be as rigid as a tank, or like the Cybertruck. It should crumple like an accordion to absorb and disperse impact energy, especially if it’s colliding with another vehicle, which should also crumple like an accordion—which is a major safety strategy of carmakers to try to minimize injuries and save lives. The Tesla does not do that. The Cybertruck’s so-called 30X steel is about three times harder than normal car steel, does not crumple like a standard car, and its edges can, in an accident, be as sharp as knives.

The Light Bar Creates Visibility Issues

Fourthly, that iconic full-width light bar across the front of the vehicle may look cool, but it does not meet U.K. lighting regulations. British laws require certain luminosity levels, precise positioning and specific visibility angles of headlights. Unfortunately, the cool-looking Cyrbertruck light bar breaks six different requirements in one package and creates serious visibility issues. That’s why 99% of cars have individually-housed headlights, and headlights, indicator lights, running lights all needs specific position to be effective.

The Cybertruck’s 0-60 Combined With Its Weight

And the fifth issue that British authorities have with the Tesla truck is its instant torque mixed with the vehicle’s huge mass. Weighing over 6,800 lbs (that’s over 3 tons!) the Cybertruck will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds, which is supercar territory. Britain’s National Transportation Safety Board chairwoman Jennifer Hominy said, “The Cybertruck is an over-6000 lb piece of steel that has no business going a quarter mile in under 11 seconds.” Can’t argue with that.

So what does all this mean? Well, to start with, you definitely won’t be seeing Cybertrucks on British roads any time soon. But on the flip side, this Tesla truck issue may have actually done the British EV market a favor. By focusing on these safety standards with such a fine-toothed comb, the authorities have sparked a crucial conversation about EV design. Should carmakers be creating vehicles that prioritize outrageous designs over safety standards like the Cybertruck? It looks like the debate has only just begun.

Story originally featured on Forbes.com

Peter Lyon

Contributor | Cars & Bikes

Peter Lyon has been based in Tokyo for over 30 years writing about cars and has just launched his third book titled ‘Toyota Yaris WRC.’ In addition to Forbes, his byline has appeared in Car and Driver, Motor Trend, Edmunds, Top Gear, Autoweek, Autocar, Herald Sun, Auto Express, GQ Japan, Auto Bild, Evo, Quattroruote, The Sydney Morning Herald, Newsweek Japan, Bil Magasinet, The Japan Times, Japan Airlines inflight magazine Skyward and Forbes Japan. Since 2015, he has hosted a weekly TV show on car culture called ‘Samurai Wheels’ with ex-F1 racing driver Ukyo Katayama broadcast via Japan’s national NHK World network. In 2010, he co-drove a V8 Lexus IS-F to place 4th-in-class in Germany’s grueling ‘Nurburgring 24-hour race’ with Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi and ex-Indycar racer Hideshi Matsuda. The fluent Japanese speaker also piloted the lead car in 2008 for Jeremy Clarkson in his “GT-R vs Bullet Train” race across Japan for BBC’s Top Gear, was commissioned by JAF to author a book in 2014 in Japanese about car culture, and sung in a male choir at the Vatican in 2010 (but not in front of the Pope). His new English language book ‘Toyota Yaris WRC,’ which he co-authored with auto historian Brian Long, launched in February 2025 and features a foreword by rally enthusiast and Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda. He is the only columnist who writes in English for Forbes and in Japanese for Forbes Japan and is the only non-Japanese juror in Japan’s Car of the Year 60-member judging panel. Lyon is a former chairman of the World Car Awards and is currently a juror for the Japan Car of the Year, the Best Cars of the Year and a judge for the International Auto Film Festa. Follow Lyon for the latest news and updates on the car industry.