Fact Check: No, Photo Doesn't Show 2 Tesla Cybertrucks Involved in Major Crash

Jordan Liles
·3-min read
@SHL0MS/X
@SHL0MS/X

Claim:

A photo shared online in early November 2024 authentically showed two Tesla Cybertrucks involved in a major crash.

Rating:

Rating: Fake
Rating: Fake

A rumor circulating online claims that a photo shows two Tesla Cybertrucks involved in a major crash.

For example, on Nov. 1, 2024, an X user posted (archived) the image with the caption: "LMAOOOO." As of this writing, the post had amassed more than 480,000 views.

A reverse-image search showed the picture had appeared online for months. Other social media users had discussed the photo without much context on X, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit and other websites.

However, on March 30, 2024, a Threads user said of the image: "Cyber self-own. AI-generated image by @shl0ms." That user credited a person with the X handle @SHL0MS for creating the picture using a generative artificial-intelligence (AI) tool, suggesting it was completely fake.

Three days earlier, on March 27, X user @SHL0MS posted (archived) the photo in question with the caption: "The self driving on these things does not work. My husband is going to f***ing kill me."

In a reply under the post, one user asked (archived): "Cool AI! What's the AI prompt and model to generate this picture?" The creator, @SHL0MS, responded (archived): "Instructions: crash one Tesla Cybertruck into another," therefore confirming the picture was fake.

In a direct message on X, @SHL0MS said their creations were all made using the generative AI platform Midjourney, "and then upscaled and manually touched up."

The user previously posted (archived) other similar AI-generated works, such as one captioned: "BREAKING: Tesla Cybertruck emerges from Santa Monica plane crash largely unscathed."

Tesla Cybertrucks Don't Have Door Handles

Some users pointed out one telltale sign of the image being AI-generated: door handles. While early prototypes of Tesla Cybertrucks did display door handles, the company later removed this feature altogether.

Business Insider reported: "Instead of a traditional door handle, the Cybertruck has a small button along the edge of its window, on the vehicle's B-pillar, which allows the door to pop open about 2 inches. It can then be grabbed and pulled fully open."

In a June 2024 YouTube video, a user named Jeremy Judkins reported on the fake photo and several others, and likewise addressed the door handles issue.

For further reading, we previously debunked another rumor promoted by @SHL0MS, in which they said Google's email service Gmail would be shutting down.

We also published an article describing four tips for spotting AI-generated photos.

Sources:

Judkins, Jeremy. "FAKE Cybertruck Crashes | DONT Be Fooled!" YouTube, 19 June 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdPQfvv1Soc.

Kay, Grace. "The Cybertruck's Lack of Door Handles Confused Its First Buyers — Leading Elon Musk to Show Them How to Open the Truck." Business Insider, 4 Dec. 2023, https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-cybertruck-doesnt-have-door-handles-elon-musk-2023-12.

"Search with an Image on Google - Computer." Google Search Help, https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/1325808.

Latest stories