🔴 [Regulatory Filing] Tesla Cybercab's entire door skin falls off after collision in Philadelphia

Summary:
Electrek reports that a gold Tesla Cybercab was involved in a collision this week on Broad Street in Philadelphia, and the outer skin of the driver's-side door fell off entirely; the report also notes that Tesla does not hold a Pennsylvania permit to operate highly automated vehicles, and it remains unclear who was at fault and whether the vehicle was being driven by Tesla software.

Content Summary:

  • Reddit user ryephila posted photos showing a gold Cybercab parked on South Broad Street in Philadelphia, about one mile south of City Hall, with the left door skin completely missing, exposing the door's inner frame, window regulator, and wiring harness; the poster said they did not witness the collision and only said it looked like a low-speed accident tore off the left door panel.
  • The photos show the glass intact and no bending visible in the underlying structure, with other damage relatively minor: wrinkles in the trim below the door and scratches on the rear fender; in the second photo, a dark-colored sedan is parked behind it, but the report says it cannot be confirmed whether that car was involved, and there is no information on injuries.
  • The report says Tesla does not paint the Cybercab, and its body panels are made of mixed-color injection-molded plastic; Tesla engineering head Lars Moravy and design head Franz von Holzhausen told Sandy Munro last year that the colored skin connects to a plastic backing panel, and the entire panel is secured by fasteners accessible from the inside.
  • Pennsylvania requires operators of highly automated vehicles (SAE Level 3 and above) to obtain a PennDOT compliance certificate, and the report says the list of PennDOT certificate holders has seven names, with Waymo included and approved to operate in Philadelphia with a safety driver, while Tesla is not on the list.
  • The report says the gold Cybercab has been appearing around Philadelphia since mid-September, and The Philadelphia Inquirer previously reported that several were photographed at a Tesla store in Devon, with Tesla not explaining their purpose; based on this, the report says the vehicle on Broad Street was most likely being driven manually or operating with Level 2 driver assistance, with a human in the car responsible.
  • The report mentions that Tesla has been putting Cybertruck steering wheels into test Cybercabs for this kind of work, but the photos cannot determine whether this vehicle had a steering wheel; the report also says that under NHTSA's standing general order, crashes involving automated driving systems must be reported even if they cause only property damage above the threshold, while Level 2 crashes are reported only when they involve death, hospitalization, airbag deployment, or hitting a pedestrian or cyclist.

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