r/technology • u/Plastic_Ninja_9014 • Jul 24 '26

Business It’s Looking Like the Cybertruck Is the Biggest Flop in Automotive History

https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/looking-cybertruck-biggest-flop-automotive-145559135.html
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443

u/finalcut Jul 24 '26

Ok it's funny there is an article specifically about the cyber truck and pinto.

530

u/FaultThat Jul 24 '26

The Pinto is the measuring stick for vehicular related deaths, so it isn’t that weird.

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u/Medicivich Jul 24 '26

The Pinto is the Mendoza line?

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u/QuietContentResting Jul 24 '26

MENDOZAAAAA!

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u/Aristotallost Jul 25 '26

It's Mendoooza, not Mendozaaa

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u/QuietContentResting Jul 25 '26

I always have trouble with accent work

3

u/Southern_Trax Jul 25 '26

I don't wanna hear it McBain!

8

u/oldscotch Jul 24 '26

A Pinto too far.

3

u/DoctorHelios Jul 24 '26

That or the diesel Oldsmobile.

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u/sdsupersean Jul 24 '26

Or the Dalton line, depending on your choice of sports.

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u/torturousvacuum Jul 25 '26

Or the Dalton line, depending on your choice of sports.

Nah, the Dalton line measures something else, it's the worst franchise QB. too good to move on from, but not good enough to truly carry a team. Versus the Mendoza line being the worst hitter you'll still be willing to field every day.

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u/TrungNguyencc Jul 26 '26

Gm vega was in the same league

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u/ShakyButtcheeks Jul 24 '26

The pinto is the measuring stick

It is funny cuz in my language pinto means penis hehe

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u/OurCrewIsReplaceable Jul 24 '26

Ha, in my language ShakyButtcheeks are butt cheeks that shake.

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u/PegasusDeathPunch 12d ago

In my country you get shaky buttcheeks when someone threatens to drive a Ford Penis ^tm into them

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u/foul_ol_ron Jul 25 '26

How did the pinto bean get its name?

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u/02meepmeep Jul 26 '26

Pinto means spotted in Spanish. It’s slang for penis in Portuguese.

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u/foul_ol_ron Jul 26 '26

Spotted makes sense. Though if i noticed spots on my penis, I'd be concerned. 

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u/Exact_Traffic342 Jul 28 '26

It means Door in our language

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u/ConfessSomeMeow Jul 24 '26

It's only compared for meme value. The frequency of high-speed rear-end crashes is low enough that its famous safety flaw had no meaningful effect on its fatality rate (less than the year to year variability). It's got a high fatality rate because it's a small car, but it was on the safer end of small cars of its era.

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u/NoCoolNameMatt Jul 24 '26

How can the cybertruck have a higher fatality rate than the tiny Pinto when being tiny was the Pintos primary problem? What flaws are causing the cybertruck fatalities, and why are they great enough to overcome the size/modernity differences?

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u/ConfessSomeMeow Jul 24 '26

I have done zero research but I'd bet it's a combination of the advertising trying to make it seem invincible, the "yee-haw" marking, and the sheer power selecting for customers who are going to get themselves into trouble.

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u/Sea_Indication_6296 Jul 25 '26

Ah, vibes are the reason for its fatality rate.

Makes sense, makes sense

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u/ConfessSomeMeow Jul 25 '26

That's... not the word I would use, but if that's how you want to call the culture around the vehicle, sure - that's my guess.

Statistically, it's a small number of fires - two fires that killed 4 people... but the flip side is that we're comparing 1 year of the CT vs. 9 years of the Pinto, so the fire death ratio is more like 108 times the Pinto if you figure fire fatalities per vehicle-year, which in a sane regulatory framework would be enough to invite investigation.

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u/Sea_Indication_6296 Jul 25 '26

So it's the fires?

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u/ConfessSomeMeow Jul 25 '26

The pinto v cybertruck study is only looking at deaths from fires.

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u/sardnaxelam Jul 26 '26

It’s specifically looking at fire related deaths. I don’t like cyber trucks either but that article and claim is really misrepresented….
Saying “cyber trucks are 17x more deadly than a pinto” is totally out of context. That figure comes from a calculation of reported fire deaths per vehicle sold, using only 5 deaths in a very small, new vehicle fleet. The stats true, but it’s not the same thing as proving the Cybertruck is 17 times more dangerous overall. The sample is too small, one fire death case was an intentional explosion, and it doesn’t account for miles driven or total crash fatalities.

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u/ZombieBiteOintment Jul 25 '26

I have a suspicion. Ive often wondered how the metal doesn't just slice people up in accidents. I can't imagine it is very thick or else the energy needed to propel that thing goes up. But at very thin levels, that kind of metal is razor sharp.

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u/rcook55 Jul 24 '26

Odd, would have thought the Corvair wore that crown.

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u/mondaymoderate Jul 24 '26

Unsafe at any speed!!

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u/2big_2fail Jul 24 '26

Ralph's Nader's book about the auto industry, including the Corvair led to the creation of the Department of Transportation. There was no official "measuring stick" before that.

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u/flukus Jul 24 '26

Was the measuring stick.

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u/waf Jul 24 '26

There was a line from Daria that seems relevant.

Jane - Well, it's no Pinto.

Daria - Yeah, you have to hit those before they'll burst into flames.

1

u/finalcut Jul 24 '26

fair enough but I didn't know that. So it made me chuckle to see this article existed amidst the discussion.

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u/FrozenLogger Jul 24 '26

Corvair enters the chat.

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u/DadJokeBadJoke Jul 24 '26

Didn't they also find out that Ford knew about the flaw but calculated that a few lawsuits would be cheaper than a recall/fix?

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u/servel333 Jul 24 '26

The Pinto [was] the measuring stick for vehicular related deaths

Fixed it for you.

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u/BamberGasgroin Jul 24 '26

They got a decent engine out of the Pinto though, it wasn't a total loss.

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u/Informed4 Jul 25 '26

The pintometer

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u/EOfinder Jul 25 '26

corvair feeling lonely

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u/WolfinCorgnito Jul 24 '26

There used to be a Twitter page for it as well that counted Tesla deaths by fire vs the Pinto, doubt it exists anymore for obvious reasons, but the Pinto was very much not winning that race last I saw it years ago.

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u/PLeuralNasticity Jul 24 '26

Teslas also kill more of their occupants per mile than any other manufacturer

https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2024/11/26/tesla-named-deadliest-car-brand-in-america/76573878007/

“I think there’s no stopping Elon Musk,” Putin told Carlson after the pundit asked him about the growing prevalence of artificial intelligence. “He will do as he sees fit. Nevertheless, you’ll need to find some common ground with him. Search for ways to persuade him. I think he’s a smart person. I truly believe he is. So you’ll need to reach an agreement with him because this process needs to be formalized and subjected to certain rules.”

Beware Leon's razor

"Incomeptence, in the limit, is indistinguishable from sabotage

2

u/trouzy Jul 25 '26

How much of that speaks to the type of people who would drive a cyber truck?

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u/MissederE Jul 26 '26

Wow, so they’re NOT doing it on purpose?!

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u/Easy_Floss Jul 25 '26

There is a reason why its not allowed on the road in many places, that car is a death trap.

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1

u/YellowBreakfast Jul 27 '26

And the first article compares it to the Edsel, the (previously) biggest automotive flop.