This is Tesla’s iconic cybertruck (Image: Tesla)

It’s difficult to know whether Elon Musk is more famous as the technical wizard who sent reusable rockets into space or the much-loved social media supremo who baselessly dubbed one of his enemies ‘pedo guy’.

But todau we’re going to focus on the business mogul’s day job at Tesla.

Elon recently stunned the world as he unveiled a strange but beautiful ‘cybertruck’ which resembled the sort of vehicle seen in retro video games.

Telsa’s design gamble appeared to pay off because it’s already received hundreds of thousands of preorders for the vehicle.


Now Elon’s next big bet might have been revealed: laser beam windscreen wipers.



His car firm has filed a patent for a system which performs ‘pulsed laser cleaning of debris accumulated on glass articles in vehicles’.

Tesla said the inventions consists of ‘a beam optics assembly that emits a laser beam to irradiate a region on a glass article of the vehicle, debris detection circuitry that detects debris accumulated over the region, and control circuitry’.

It wrote: ‘The control circuitry calibrates a set of parameters associated with the laser beam emitted from the beam optics assembly based on detection of the debris accumulated over the region on the glass article, controls an exposure level of the laser beam on the debris accumulated based on calibration of the set of parameters associated with the laser beam, wherein the exposure level is controlled based on pulsing the laser beam at a calibrated rate that limits penetration of the laser beam to a depth that is less than a thickness of the glass article, and removes the debris accumulated over the region on the glass article using the laser beam.’

What that means is that future Teslas might be able to detect dirt on a windscreen and then zap it off with a laser.

The system is likely to be useful for self-driving cars too, because it could clean camera lenses to make sure robot motorists know where they are going and avoid other cars or pedestrians.

A grab from a video of the incident (Image: Twitter)

Elon been seen out in Los Angeles showing off the striking-looking cybertruck.

But we’re sad to report that the billionaire is alleged to have had a little accident whilst driving away from a very posh restaurant called Nobu.

People have been starting to see the cybertruck out and about in the US, although it’s unlikely that Elon is at the wheel during every sighting.

It’s fair to say that most people are shocked by its strange aesthetic, although most observers seem to think it’s pretty cool.

The car is also designed to be tough – and now its strength has been vividly demonstrated.

In the video above, Elon is shown in his cybertruck.

A car is then seen driving out of a carpark and ploughing straight into a traffic cone.

Although you can’t see who’s at the wheel, many people have claimed it must be Elon himself.

The tiny little mishap was seized up by the Muskovites of Twitter, who gleefully shared gifs, memes and jokes about the incident.

‘Poor traffic cone, being smashed down by the raw force of this steel triangular beast,’ one Twitter user wrote.



Another shared the video and added: ‘Crushing a traffic cone? Showing off the strength of the cybertruck. Love it!’

Others called for the cone to be given its own Twitter account.

That cone had to die. pic.twitter.com/20Th3QiVQt — Storax1962 (@storax1962) December 9, 2019

Like a bawwsss. That traffic cone didn’t even know what hit him. #cybertruck pic.twitter.com/3nQ49jBhRv — McKnightRider (@KevinPlesha) December 10, 2019

‘Cybertruck is built with an exterior shell made for ultimate durability and passenger protection,’ claims the Tesla website.

‘Starting with a nearly impenetrable exoskeleton, every component is designed for superior strength and endurance, from Ultra-Hard 30X Cold-Rolled stainless-steel structural skin to Tesla armour glass.’

However, the windows smashed during the cybertruck’s big reveal after a metal ball was thrown at them.

‘Room for improvement,’ Musk quipped in response to the blunder.