The Air Force is looking to buy Tesla Cybertrucks to blow up for target practice.
The service was looking to buy two Cybertrucks to use as targets for precision-guided munitions, citing concerns that enemies may soon start to use them on the battlefield, according to federal contracting documents shared online.
The Cybertrucks – made by Elon Musk’s Tesla – are among 33 target vehicles that the Air Force Test Center is ordering for “live missile fire testing” at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
There are no other name-brand requirements for the other vehicles on the training center’s shopping list, which also includes sedans, bongo trucks, pickup trucks and SUVs.
According to the contract, the two Cybertrucks had to be towable, but not functional, and have all fluids drained before their delivery. The news of the request for Cybertrucks was first published by The War Zone.
In a document detailing why the Tesla vehicles were specifically needed, the contract noted it was “likely” that U.S. adversaries may start to use Cybertrucks on the battlefield.
“The type of vehicles used by the enemy may transition to Tesla Cyber trucks as they have been found not to receive the normal extent of damage expected upon major impact,” the document says.
Musk, the Tesla CEO, claimed the Cybertruck was “apocalypse proof” when he first launched the vehicle in 2023, but it was not immediately clear if the company would do anything to prevent the vehicles from getting into the hands of US enemies.
Tesla and the US Air Force did not immediately return requests for comment from The Independent.
News of the Air Force looking to conduct target practice on Cybertrucks comes two months after tech boss Musk and his longtime ally, President Donald Trump, had a very messy, public falling out.
After Musk’s time leading the Department of Government Efficiency came to a close in May, the two powerful men got into a very public fight that concluded with Musk issuing a grovelling apology, only to blow up again weeks later.
After staging a farewell press conference in the Oval Office, Musk and Trump’s relationship took a turn for the worst when Musk began to publicly criticize Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”
Trump went on to claim that Musk was “wearing thin,” as the two men traded blows on their respective social media platforms. The brawl eventually concluded with Musk posting, without evidence, “Time to drop the really big bomb. @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!” He later deleted the post.
