The ancient Greeks had their chariots, and General Patton utilized tanks in battle. Today, a select group of soldiers are entering combat in one of the most unconventional military vehicles ever: an armed Cybertruck.
Recently, in a video shared on Telegram, Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, showcased two of Tesla’s uniquely designed electric pickup trucks, which were painted in a forest green color and outfitted with what appeared to be Soviet-era DShK 12.7 x 108 mm heavy machine guns. Kadyrov claimed these vehicles were deployed to support Russian troops involved in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The video footage reveals these vehicles cruising along a dirt road as part of a four-vehicle team, with troops positioned to operate their weapons from the truck beds, successfully targeting and shooting down objects in the air.
Kadyrov emphasized the importance of such vehicles by stating, “Mobility, convenience, maneuverability: these attributes of an electric vehicle are highly valued here,” on his Telegram post.
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The recent video appeared shortly after Kadyrov shared an initial clip on Telegram featuring a Cybertruck
equipped with a Russian Kord 12.7 x 108 mm heavy machine gun. In a
subsequent Telegram post, Kadyrov asserted that the Cybertruck had been remotely disabled by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who had previously
refuted claims of gifting the infamous warlord the vehicle, likely due to US
sanctions against Russia.
Kadyrov expressed his frustration on Telegram over the remote shutdown, stating, “This is not manly.” (Tesla has not responded to WIRED’s request for comment.)
It was only a matter of time before someone would apply a machine gun to a Cybertruck. For over a century, both state militaries and irregular forces worldwide have been creating “technicals”—or “
nonstandard tactical vehicles” based on civilian vehicles. The concept of armed armored vehicles
predates the onset of World War I by a decade, however, the war hastened their production and deployment, often leading to innovative solutions in critical situations. One of the first recorded uses of a technical occurred in September 1914 when French naval lieutenant Maxime François Émile Destremau defended a vital coaling station in Papeete, Tahiti, against two German cruisers by removing six 37 mm cannons from his warship and
installing them on six Ford trucks to fend off potential landings, as discussed in the 2004 book
On Armor. The technical has existed as long as automobiles have.
As recognized by most defense analysts, the technical is typically built on commercial flatbed pickup trucks like the robust Toyota Hilux and Land Cruiser, which established its role in modern irregular warfare during the so-called “
Toyota War” of the 1980s, where Chadian militia forces gained significant victories against the Libyan military thanks to the enhanced mobility and maneuverability offered by their light vehicles. (Chadian forces found that, when driven at high speeds, technicals could cross areas mined with Soviet-era explosives without detonating them.)
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Since then, technicals have become a staple in conflicts such as the US military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Syrian and Libyan Civil Wars, and now the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These conflicts have continued to inspire a surge of innovative designs for improvised fighting vehicles. Notable examples include Libyan militants installing a S-5 rocket pod, intended for aircraft, on the back of a truck and a Land Cruiser equipped with a Russian-made 14.5 mm ZPU-2 antiaircraft gun that American soldiers traded for to secure Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021—this vehicle is now displayed in a US military museum. (Does a DShK mounted on a shopping cart qualify as a technical? That remains a topic of debate.)
These innovations raise an intriguing question: Could an armed Cybertruck serve effectively as a technical on the battlefield?
Despite the numerous issues surrounding the Cybertruck since its launch, it may not be the worst choice available. Presently, the Cybertruck boasts a maximum range of 340 miles (or 500 miles with an additional battery pack)—which pales in comparison to the approximately 570- to 700-mile range of the Hilux. However, the Cybertruck outperforms in acceleration, capable of reaching 60 mph in as little as 2.6 to 3.9 seconds, depending on the model, a remarkable feat given its size and weight.
In terms of protecting its passengers from threats such as small arms fire, the Cybertruck’s steel “exoskeleton” claims to provide much better protection than conventional pickup trucks—a feature Tesla has been eager to showcase in its marketing. Additionally, the Cybertruck, as an electric vehicle, operates with an almost silent efficiency, presenting a stealth advantage that the US Defense Department has shown interest in recently compared to traditional fossil-fuel vehicles.
“There are some attributes that work,” David Tracy, a cofounder of the car website The Autopian and a former auto engineer, tells WIRED. “It’s off-road capable and has big 35-inch tires and good ground clearance. It has stainless steel panels that can take some amount of abuse. From a defense standpoint—as in, ‘How safe am I in the vehicle?’—if you were to take a stock Hilux or a stock Cybertruck, the Cybertruck would probably be the better choice in a firefight.”
If technicals are built for speed and maneuverability, then the Cybertruck “offers significant benefits over the Hilux,” Tracy says.
“It is absolutely, absurdly quick,” he says. “In a drag race between the two, the Hilux would be an ant in the Cybertruck’s rearview mirror. If you need speed and agility, and it isn’t necessarily going through rigorous off-roading or being fired upon regularly, then it could actually work fine.”
Despite these potential tactical benefits, defense analysts aren’t convinced the Cybertruck has a place on the modern battlefield. As retired Marine colonel Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, tells WIRED, the armed vehicles flaunted by Kadyrov on Telegram “are totally cool and totally useless.”
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“They are impressive as they resemble something from a video game and depict Kadyrov as a kind of futuristic warlord,” Cancian mentions in an email to WIRED. “However, they are impractical since they don’t add any new capabilities, except maybe a touch of stealth.”
Indeed, the Cybertruck is not entirely appropriate for hostile and chaotic environments such as the frontline of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. First, the vehicle’s exoskeleton is made of steel panels mounted on a standard “unibody” frame, which resembles a traditional car chassis more than the “body-on-frame” structure found in most pickup trucks like the Hilux. This structure, according to Motor Trend, results in a vehicle that is weaker and less resilient. Second, although the Cybertruck has off-road capabilities, it is much heavier than the Hilux, which can affect maneuverability and traction on rough surfaces. Third, while its armor is expected to offer more protection compared to regular pickup truck-based personnel carriers, the vehicle’s bulletproofing appears to be effective against subsonic rounds like the .45 ACP ammunition used in Tesla’s tests, but not against the common NATO-standard 5.56 mm round or a .50 caliber rifle shot. (To be fair, aftermarket armor packages for the vehicle are available.)
Apart from design and engineering hurdles, there is the vital issue of maintenance and logistics, which are essential for any motorized conflict. As Tracy emphasizes, the Cybertruck’s intricate design and software-centered features (such as the absence of a mechanical link between the steering wheel and the wheels) lead to a shortage of spare parts and an increased risk of critical system failures. Such problems make it unlikely for the vehicle to function reliably and maintain consistent operational readiness, which is not ideal for troops who may depend on them.
“Simplicity is key; simplicity and availability of parts,” Tracy notes. “If you’re operating a complex vehicle and encounter a failure that requires specialized computer diagnostics, you’re in trouble if you’re stranded. The beauty of the Hilux is its durability and the fact that it can be repaired with straightforward tools and widely available parts. The Cybertruck doesn’t quite fit that criteria.”
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“It’s great that it is safe in a crash and can take a bullet,” he adds. “But if you break a control arm and can’t get the part, it’s pretty useless.”
Moreover, the Cybertruck’s dependence on charging infrastructures could render a fleet of armed vehicles “likely impossible to support” in any prolonged conflict similar to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, as noted by CSIS’s Cancian.
“I doubt there are garages or mechanics near the front lines who can fix these complex devices, which are so unlike the fossil fuel vehicles that the region is accustomed to,” he shares. “Additionally, I doubt there are many recharging stations in the combat area. Unlike fossil fuel vehicles, where fuel can be delivered to the vehicle if needed, the Cybertrucks must travel to the recharging point.”
The actual performance of the Cybertruck in combat scenarios remains uncertain. Yet, if the video by Kadyrov is any indication, it seems inevitable that an armed Cybertruck will evolve from YouTube sensation to a reliable, battle-tested vehicle.
