Tesla chief designer: Accidentally smashing Cybertruck windows was ‘great marketing moment’

During the Tesla Cybertruck’s 2019 reveal, von Holzhausen, the company’s chief designer, threw steel balls at the car, aiming to show that the windows CEO Elon Musk said were made of “armored glass” were indeed very tough. However, the windows were unexpectedly shattered, causing Musk to deliver the rest of his presentation of the new truck while standing in front of the damaged vehicle. Tesla stock fell more than 5% the next day.

While the incident seemed like an omen, indicating that the Cybertruck was on the verge of failure, the failed demonstration provided an opportunity to highlight the new model, von Holzhausen said in an interview with Tesla Club Austria published earlier this year.

“When something goes wrong, it usually does,” von Holzhausen said, referring to the phenomenon that when something goes wrong, it usually does. “And I think in a weird way – we don’t do marketing – but it turned out to be a great marketing moment.”

He added: “It was not an expected moment, but in that moment, you have to deal with it.”

After unveiling the car, Musk posted a video on The video was viewed more than 6 million times within three days of being posted.

“I think we have to make some improvements before production,” Musk wrote.

Days later, Musk praised the success of the Cybertruck launch, saying that Tesla had received more than 200,000 orders to purchase the vehicle. Although Tesla doesn’t release Cybertruck numbers when it reports earnings, instead lumping them in with the Model S and

Bigger problems than broken windows

Despite Musk’s optimism about pre-orders, the Cybertruck’s ill-fated launch was a sign of things to come for the car. Although Musk initially boasted that the truck would retail for just $39,900 when it was expected to hit the market in late 2021, the Cybertruck has faced years of delays, debuting in November 2023 at $60,990.

Tesla tried to reclaim the broken glass incident with a $45 T-shirt sold on its website, but the brand was gaining notoriety on other parts of the internet. In particular, concerns have been growing about the security of Cybertrucks, which have seen several recalls as a result of a faulty tire pressure monitoring system, among other issues — including the aforementioned recall of all 46,100 Cybertrucks delivered in March.

To add to its problems, multiple deaths have occurred following Cybertruck accidents. A wrongful death lawsuit alleged the truck had defective safety mechanisms after a Houston man died in a Cybertruck crash that caught fire.

Safety concerns and recalls associated with the Cybertruck have coincided with faltering truck sales. Demand for the vehicle remained steady last year, but Cybertrucks have been accumulating large quantities over the summer as dealers go through inventories of unwanted vehicles.

Just 16,097 Cybertrucks were delivered in the first three quarters of this year, according to Cox Automotive data, a 38% year-over-year decline, with the model outpacing the beleaguered Ford F-150 Lightning, which has been discontinued in its all-electric form due to falling demand.

Tesla truck sales have been so bad that Musk’s company SpaceX has bought 1,000 Cybertrucks from Tesla and may buy up to 2,000 vehicles. Electric Quoting an anonymous source last week. Earlier this year, another Musk-founded company, xAI, reportedly bought unsold Cybertrucks.

Tesla did not respond luckRequest for comment.

A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on August 5, 2025.

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• Elon Musk has started work on Tesla’s trillion-dollar pay package. But two loopholes portend how shareholders could go bankrupt
• Elon Musk says Tesla owners will soon be able to text while driving, despite it being illegal in nearly all 50 states.

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