Police in the UK finally did something useful after officers in the northern city of Manchester impounded one of the first Tesla Cybertrucks to make it across the pond. Officers cleared the Manchester streets of the electric menace Thursday and impounded the Cybertruck as it is “not road legal in the UK.”
Tesla currently only sells the ridiculous Cybertruck in America and is unable to sell it in Europe as the continent has some pretty strict pedestrian safety regulations. Drivers have found a way of sidestepping these rules by importing the gargantuan EV into Albania, where it can then be registered, insured and fitted with some cleverly-placed rubber patches to hide the EV’s sharp edges.
That didn’t prove to be quite enough for one Cybertruck owner to keep the keys to their ridiculous EV and police in Greater Manchester this week seized a Tesla Cybertruck that they say was being driven illegally, reports Sky News.
In order to protect pedestrians, other road users and general cutesy vibe of the UK, Bury Police impounded the car. In a social media post, they said the car was “not road legal in the UK,” and as such they had no choice but to take it off the streets. As the force explained:
The driver was a permanent UK resident but the vehicle was registered and insured abroad which is prohibited in the UK.
The Tesla Cybertruck is not road legal in the UK and does not hold a certificate of conformity.
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 a Cybertruck.
The vehicle was subsequently seized under S165 of the Road Traffic Act and the driver reported.
If they want to get the keys to their truck back, the owner of the EV will have to prove that they are the legal owner of the Cybertruck and that they have the correct insurance for the vehicle - as driving uninsured on UK roads is illegal.
Sky News added that even if the owner does get reunited with their truck, they still won’t be able to drive it on the highway as the Cybertruck hasn’t yet passed UK road safety tests. Isn’t that a shame.
This is the second Cybertruck to turn up on British roads in recent months, after automotive YouTuber Yianni Charalambous documented his mission to become the first Cybertruck owner in the UK. The truck seized in Manchester doesn’t appear to be his vehicle, which led Carwow to explain some of the steps Charalambous has taken to stay on the right side of the law:
You may be wondering if there’s any way to make a Cybertruck legal for use on UK roads, well YouTuber Yianni Charalambous, known online as Yiannimize, is pulling out all the stops to get UK number plates on his Tesla.
He added orange indicators, blanked off the orange side markers required by US law and covered the truck in rubber strips to hide some of the sharp edges. There’s still more work to do though.
The brick-like front end and hardened stainless steel bodywork won’t be too kind on pedestrians or other cars in the event of an accident, so we’ll have to wait and see if Yianni can find a way around this. Until then, it might be better to consider other electric cars if you’re living in the UK.
I’m personally pretty annoyed that Cybertrucks are turning up on British roads, after I managed to leave America right before deliveries started. Hopefully it’s the only dumb American idea that’s followed me here and I won’t also have to deal with Elon Musk’s election meddling and the privatization of medical care. Oh wait.