After a crash on Philadelphia's South Broad Street, a gold Tesla Cybercab was seen with the entire outer section of its driver's-side door gone.
The unusual sight drew attention to both the car's unconventional body design and how Tesla is testing the model in Pennsylvania.
Here's what to know
Electrek reported that Reddit images shared on the r/EnoughMuskSpam subreddit placed the vehicle a little more than a mile below City Hall, where it sat after the incident. The user who shared them said they had not seen the collision happen, adding that "it looked like a low speed incident ripped off the cybercab's left door panel."
One photo also shows a dark sedan directly behind the Tesla, but its connection to the crash is unknown. No injuries had been reported.
According to PennDOT, Tesla lacks the Pennsylvania certificate of compliance required for a "highly automated vehicle," which in the state's terminology covers SAE Level 3 systems and above.
The agency's current roster includes seven certificate holders, Electrek said. One is Waymo, whose Philadelphia approval allows it to operate with a driver in the vehicle.
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That means the Cybercab was most likely being driven manually or running Tesla's Level 2 assistance features, a setup that still makes the human driver legally responsible. The available images don't make it clear whether this Cybercab had a steering wheel fitted, the outlet noted.
More background
The missing panel is especially notable because the Cybercab's outer body is built differently from a typical steel car.
Electrek noted Tesla does not finish the Cybercab with paint. Instead, the body panels are molded plastic with the color incorporated into the material, a setup that Tesla engineering head Lars Moravy and design chief Franz von Holzhausen previously explained to Sandy Munro.
Under that approach, the colored exterior layer attaches to a plastic backing component, and the whole assembly is fastened from the inside. So a door skin that separates as a single piece fits how the vehicle is constructed.
The images further indicate that the window glass stayed intact and that the structure beneath the missing skin was not obviously badly bent.
In theory, swapping on a new outer panel could be faster for Tesla than fixing and repainting a dented steel door. At the same time, the episode invites durability questions if a low-speed crash can tear away that much of the exterior.
A Redditor joked along those lines: "Did the panels use the wrong grade of sticky tape?"
What's being done?
One safeguard Pennsylvania already has in place is a permit system for higher-level automated driving.
Federal reporting rules may also apply, but whether this incident ends up in that system depends on what mode the Cybercab was operating in.
There's also the question of whether, beyond the odd optics, the sight is good or bad.
"That could be the design doing its job," Electrek said, suggesting it could trigger a cheap, easy swap at a body shop rather than an expensive paint job.
Then again, there's the flipside.
"Or it's a body panel that lets go too easily and ends up loose on a city street after a minor bump," the outlet suggested. "We can't settle that with just a couple of photos."
Where can I learn more?
The Philadelphia Cybercab crash also raises broader questions about the safety and oversight of Tesla's automated driving.
• In Austin, Tesla acknowledged robotaxi crash reporting gaps as scrutiny of autonomous testing intensified.
• Model Y drivers said Full Self-Driving veered into rims, deepening distrust of Tesla's software.
• Across Tesla forums, owners described alleged autopilot safety issues serious enough to stop using it.
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