Cybertrucks Finally Have a Purpose — Target Practice for the US Air Force

The Cybertruck has been under siege on many fronts. This all-electric pickup made a splash after its launch in late 2023, selling tens of thousands of units in the following months, despite its prohibitive price tag.

However, the allure of this futuristic truck quickly wore off, with one controversy after another. Build quality doubts, performance issues, safety concerns and dramatic depreciation rates have soured the public’s opinion of it. That’s why Tesla’s sales team bombed in 2025’s first half. While interest in the Cybertruck has waned, a new buyer has entered the picture.

Uncle Sam Wants a Pair

According to recently published contracting documents, the United States Air Force hopes to acquire two Cybertrucks and 31 other vehicles as targets for live missile fire testing. The military service’s munitions team only needs the Teslas to be towable, as their role is no more than sitting ducks for pilots carrying out aerial bombardment. 

The acquisition aims to test how the Cybertruck would react to military-grade weaponry since it looks indestructible. Elon Musk envisioned this avant-garde electric vehicle to resist scratches, dents and rust. The fact that Tesla engineers fabricate its exoskeleton using the same stainless steel alloy that SpaceX’s Starship is clad in lends credence to its aura of durability.

Although anecdotal evidence suggests that even a .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire round is powerful enough to pierce through the Cybertruck’s body, the U.S. military still wants to test the limits of its resilience by blowing it up with air-launched missiles. Bombing an automobile unable to withstand a projectile intended for small game hunting for science seems overkill, but there’s a method to the U.S. Air Force’s madness.

U.S. Adversaries in Militarized Cybertrucks

The U.S. Department of Defense is curious about how it could take down the Cybertruck in case American troops encounter it on the battlefield someday.

The idea of it as a vehicle for death and destruction isn’t novel. Its panzer-like appearance isn’t lost on military history buffs, and it comes across as an assault vehicle from a dystopian future. Tyler Rogoway of The War Zone even pitched the idea of converting Tesla trucks into uncrewed battle wagons to the Pentagon in early 2024. The pundit argued that the department could capitalize on the automaker’s significant investment in research and development and mass production prowess to churn out autonomous ground vehicles for noncombat applications.

It’s unclear how keen the U.S. military is on beefing up its fleet with Cybertrucks, as spending American taxpayer money on souped-up versions of them has been controversial. What’s apparent is that the top brass is more interested in neutralizing them, especially after the head of Russia’s Chechen Republic claimed to have sent several Cybertrucks equipped with 12.7 mm machine guns to join the war in Ukraine.

A Momentous Plink

The Pentagon has acknowledged the Cybertruck’s potential as a military asset. While this may be immaterial for now, it signals Tesla’s official foray into defense.