Despite the EU’s restrictions on vehicle size and design, member states have the authority to approve one-off registrations in their home markets. These “individual vehicle approvals” are subject to less formal testing.
In July, one Czech buyer claimed to have officially registered the first Cybertruck in the country after making a series of modifications to boost its road-worthiness. This included adding rubber slats to some of its sharpest points.
However, the campaigners alleged the vehicle had been approved on the basis it weighed 3.5 tonnes, classing it as a light duty vehicle, compared with the 4 tonnes marketed by Tesla.
They alleged that a “loophole was used to bring this heavy, dangerous vehicle into Europe”.
The group said the weight limits were “clearly intended to safeguard Europe from the very oversized pickup trucks now being increasingly imported and bringing danger to our streets.”
They added: “Based on data published by Tesla, the Cybertruck appears not to pass this test. There is, in our assessment, no legal path to lawfully register a Cybertruck for use on EU streets”.
However, Norton Slovak, whose company Cybertruck.cz owns the vehicle, said the weight calculations “may not fully reflect how these regulations are applied or interpreted by Czech authorities”, The Guardian reported.
Mr Slovak was contacted for comment.
The Czech transport ministry said the approval was on an individual basis, rather than a “type approval” for the European market. Tesla was also contacted for comment.