For some buyers, a Tesla is more than a car. It is a membership card for the “we already live in the future” club, complete with an imaginary knowing smile. At that price, surely you get something extra — perhaps the feeling that even in a parking lot, you are ahead of everyone else.
Then a window cracks, a maneuver goes wrong, or an ordinary obstacle interrupts the performance. The attention is still there. People are just reaching for their phones for a different reason.
These pictures include documented demonstration failures, disputed tests, and internet scenes with uncertain backstories. None tells the whole story — but several practically write their own captions.
1. The Glass Had Other Plans
At the Cybertruck unveiling, Musk was ready to demonstrate the toughness of its armor glass — then Tesla design chief Franz von Holzhausen cracked both side windows with a steel ball. The big promise suddenly had two very visible complications. Awkward when the product interrupts its own sales pitch.