Tesla’s chief designer says smashing a $61K Cybertruck’s window with a metal ball was a ‘great marketing moment’
Published on Aug 06, 2025 at 3:00 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Aug 06, 2025 at 8:33 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
Tesla’s chief designer has said that accidentally smashing the window on the $61k Tesla Cybertruck EV with a metal ball was actually a ‘great marketing moment.’
During the 2019 reveal of the Cybertruck, chief designer Franz von Holzhausen threw steel balls at the EV to try to demonstrate how tough it was.
That act led to two smashed windows, which wasn’t something that the company had wanted to see after the pickup was hailed as so tough.
But von Holzhausen felt that doing so was actually a good thing and that it was a stroke of marketing genius.
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Tesla’s chief designer has recalled the window-smashing moment
Tesla’s chief designer was speaking in an interview with the Tesla Club Austria.
The event in question took place during the reveal of the electric pickup truck back in 2019.
During the reveal, CEO Elon Musk and von Holzhausen wanted to demonstrate that the windows were ‘made of armor glass.’
Unfortunately for the company, the metal balls thrown at the EV smashed two of its windows.
Musk then had to deliver the rest of the presentation next to the smashed car.
Tesla’s stock then fell by more than five percent the next day.
But while it looked bad, the company itself believes it worked out for the best.
In fact, von Holzhausen says it gave the pickup a new spotlight.
The manufacturer capitalized on the snafu with the Cybertruck
The manufacturer was somehow able to capitalize on the whole affair.
The company sold t-shirts alluding to the incident, and the global attention the truck received was actually to its benefit.
In the days following the launch and window-smashing moment, Musk said the company had 200,000 orders for the truck.
The CEO posted a video on X just after the Cybertruck’s reveal that showed the windows holding up to a steel ball thrown by the chief designer.
Despite this, it’s fair to say things have not really worked out for the truck since then.
It suffered numerous delays, and the price has risen from an original $39,000 to $60,990 in November 2023.
Sales have been particularly slow, to the point that the brand may replace the Cybertruck with a new, smaller pickup.
Either way, it would appear the window incident had very little impact on the Tesla Cybertruck.
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Henry is a content writer with nearly ten years experience, having written for various publications since 2017. Qualifying with a Sports Journalism degree from Staffordshire University, Henry loves all things automotive but has a particular soft spot for classic Japanese cars and anything Lancia. He also has a curious passion for steam locomotives.
