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Cybertruck’s shattered glass mishap inspires Lego, Pepsi and mashed potato makeovers

Though the Tesla pickup debut does not appear to have hurt orders, the embarrassing backfire launched a Twitter scrum.

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November 29, 2019 at 11:58 a.m. EST
The Cybertruck with broken window glass is displayed after Tesla CEO Elon Musk introduced it at Tesla's design studio on Nov. 21. (H.W. Chiu/AP) (Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP)
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Serial inventor Elon Musk’s Cybertruck belly flopped at its world debut last week when its shatterproof glass shattered. His electric car company, Tesla, had billed the cutting edge pickup as indestructible. Then the company’s top designer lobbed a steel ball at the window.

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Musk has since explained that the “armor glass” had been weakened during an earlier strength test involving a sledgehammer. Though the inauspicious debut does not appear to have hurt orders — Musk suggested 250,000 in a tweet Tuesday — the embarrassing backfire launched a Twitter scrum, prompting brands like Lego, Denny’s and Pepsi-Cola to poke fun at Tesla’s entry into the hugely profitable pickup truck market. All three have tweeted out their interpretations of what tough really looks like, inspiring a succession of memes. Lots of memes.

Lego may well have the most compelling argument for indestructibility — as anyone who’s ever stepped on one while barefoot can attest. On Wednesday, the company’s Twitter account gleefully announced, “The evolution of the truck is here. Guaranteed shatterproof.” As of Friday, it had more than 101,500 likes and had been retweeted nearly 27,000 times.

In response, a poster with the handle @J_M_O_N who describes himself as a Tesla owner from Ontario, shared his version of the Lego vehicle, complete with broken window: “I let @woodhaus2 play with my Lego #CyberTruck.” The @woohaus2 handle belongs to Tesla’s top designer and chief window crusher, Franz von Holzhausen.

Another Twitter user showed the Danish-based Lego’s entry into the U.S. car market as a Cybertruck rescue vehicle, the sort of tow truck that AAA might long for.

Even Denny’s — better known for its Moons Over My Hammy and pancake breakfasts — piled on, unveiling the Dynertruck and its eerily similar profile. “Revealed our Dynertruck the same day as the Cybertruck … smh.”

Pepsi, meanwhile, proved that its iconic blue can could withstand a paper wad onslaught. The video clip, cheekily headlined “Demo day,” has been viewed nearly 16,000 times.

But creativity was not limited to brands. A video clip tweeted out by @DanMilanoHere revealed the painstaking artistry of a mashed potato sculptor. The fluffy Cybertruck had smashed windows but remained gravy-free. The video has been viewed nearly 500,000 times

Another Twitter user found a “static cling decal” that instantaneously converted his Jeep into a Cybertruck, cracked window and all.

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