Tesla Cybertruck owners find registration loopholes in Europe

When Tesla's chief engineer Lars Moravy said that the Cybetruck can't be homologated for sale in Europe due to its edgier shape, he had little idea what willing Europeans were prepared to do to drive Tesla's first electric pickup.

First, popular YouTuber GMK rode a Cybertruck with US number plates around Monaco, parking it among all those low-sitting Lamborghinis and McLarens in front of chic hotels there, and some fun valet situations ensued.

Then an American Cybertruck popped up in the Czech Republic, and that one even had to be rescued in Slovakia as its driver wanted to try Wade Mode in a deep lake.

Now, however, several registered Cybertrucks have appeared on European roads, all carrying local Polish, Czech, and even Austrian number plates. According to local Tesla marketer Anthony Martin, these have all been registered as commercial trucks, perhaps in order to avoid stricter requirements for passenger vehicles.

According to Lars Moravy, "European regulations call for a 3.2mm external radius on external projections" of vehicles on local roads. "Unfortunately, it’s impossible to make a 3.2mm radius on a 1.4mm sheet of stainless steel," he added, so the Cybertruck in its current from can't be homologated for sale directly from Tesla there.

There are plenty of examples of Europeans registering their big American SUVs or pickups as work trucks, though. This helps them avoid the excessive taxation on big engines in their respective countries, so something like that could've played out with the Cybertruck as well. Alternatively, individual registrations don't require dealer homologation and personal connections in the respective authorities can't be ruled out, either.

When it comes to official Cybertruck homologation for sale from Tesla in places like Europe or China, however, Elon Musk thinks it may only happen in 2025, as long as Tesla decides to redesign the Cybertruck into a "frankly, worse product" to shoehorn it in all the external projection radius requirements.

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