Trump's $400m Armored EV Order Could Save Cybertruck (But Is It Really Bulletproof?)

The United States State Department released its procurement forecast for the 2025 fiscal year, and one particular line item has garnered a lot of interest, and that's "Armored Electric Vehicles" — totaling somewhere in the neighborhood of $400 million, according to NPR. Elon Musk's influence on the government's finances and an alleged edited budget document have spurred speculation that the Tesla Cybertruck could become the armored vehicle of choice. Elon Musk, however, has seemingly denied the veracity of such rumors. 

A healthy multi-hundred million dollar investment towards the Cybertruck could rescue it from its cemented status as a frequently recalled low-volume luxury item designed purely to flex on other people or show the buyer's questionable judgment. One of the main selling points, after all, was the ability to withstand small-arms fire. Musk even went through the effort of posting several videos of a Cybertruck absorbing fire from a variety of handguns and submachine guns. As anybody following the Autopilot "self-driving car" saga knows, though, it's risky taking Tesla or anything Elon Musk has ever said at face value.

Is the Tesla Cybertruck really bulletproof? The answer is, sort of. The testing done by Tesla showed a Cybertruck getting shot by four guns: A Glock handgun, a "Tommy Gun" (more than likely an M1928 Thompson submachine gun replica), an MP5-SD, and a Benelli M4 shotgun. Tesla also provided the muzzle velocity (the speed of the projectile when it leaves the barrel) for each gun. Going entirely by what you can see on the video, the Cybertruck does seem to shrug off rounds from all four guns, receiving only a lot of bullet-sized dents and some cracked glass in the process. Taking it at face value, it seems like a fleet of Cybertrucks wouldn't be the worst idea for protecting government employees.

The muzzle velocity listed for each gun signified something interesting about the ammunition Tesla chose. With the exception of the shotgun, all of the ammunition was subsonic, traveling below the speed of sound (1,125 feet per second). That's an intentional ammunition choice by Tesla. Most commercially available ammunition is transonic or supersonic, meaning that it surpasses the speed of sound, giving it more of a "punch." This indicates that Tesla went out of its way to use slower ammunition for the test.

The 00-buck shotgun ammunition did, in fact, break the speed of sound when it exited the barrel. Shotgun barrels are not rifled, meaning that the pellets quickly lost velocity by the time each one hit the Cybertruck's door. Tesla also didn't show the Cybertruck taking fire from any rifles. Rifle ammunition is significantly faster than pistol or shotgun rounds, with common AR-15 rounds exceeding 3,000 feet per second.

So the Cybertruck is "sort of" bullet "proof" provided you are using very specific ammunition. Like the Cadillac used by the President, vehicles purchased by the State Department are going to be modified and given armor plating and countermeasures to stop higher caliber weapons and fire or chemical-based attacks. Similarly, it's important to note modern armored personnel carriers (APCs) are rated to withstand similar attacks. It's probably safe to say that the Cybertruck isn't truly suited for the job off the shelf.

Nevertheless, if the budget rumors are true, you can expect to see a lot more Cybertrucks on the road than you are used to seeing, especially around Washington D.C. and wherever the State Department needs people transported quickly and safely.