Car break-ins are an unfortunate epidemic around the San Francisco Bay Area.
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According to a December 2023 report by the San Francisco Standard, through December 15, 2023, about 20,450 instances of "theft from vehicles" were logged by the San Francisco Police Department — about 59 break-ins per day in the city.
Though videos of 'bippers' — the local Bay Area slang term for someone who commits this sort of offense — breaking into vehicles for items left in cars garners millions of views, reactions and comments all over various social media channels, one video is gathering millions of views because of an unsuccessful attempt.
X (formerly known as Twitter) user Arash Malek, or @MinimalDuck posted a now-viral clip of a 'bipper' attempting to break into his friend's Tesla (TSLA) Cybertruck parked on a street in Oakland.
Cybertruck is California-proof. Armored glass beats criminals trying their best to break in – even when jumping on the roof. @Tesla @cybertruck @elonmusk @teslaownersSV @oaklandpoliceca
— Arash Malek (@MinimalDuck) February 26, 2024
Don’t mess with Cybertruck. 📐 pic.twitter.com/S8Wt1tCcNC
The 39-second clip, which is set to the "Drive"-famous track "Nightcall" by French musician Kavinsky, shows the bare-faced wannabe thief emerge from a white Infiniti G37 and attempt to break the Cybertruck's glass using the porcelain end of a spark plug.
Realizing that the Tesla's glass is much tougher than typical Automotive safety glass, the wannabe thief pops back into the Infiniti and attempts to break the glass again while illuminating the surface with an iPhone flashlight.
The various cameras of Tesla's "sentry" security system captured the incident from multiple angles, including that of the enterprising fellow emerging from the roof of the car.
Photos shared by Malek alongside the clip show the damage done to the Cybertruck come daylight, as the Tesla's driver's side windows cracked, but failed to shatter. Additionally, the damage to the glass roof panel showed that the enterprising fellow tried to enter the Cybertruck via the roof, but was foiled by its shatterproof glass.
"Cybertruck is California-proof," Malek said in his post. "Armored glass beats criminals trying their best to break in, even when jumping on the roof."
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Tesla claims that the Cybertruck’s “armor glass” can "resist the impact of a baseball at 70 mph or class 4 hail," but despite its abilities, it will be a costly repair job.
According to a parts list shared by the Cybertruck Owners Club forum, Tesla sells the side glass panels to its service centers at a cost of $260 and $225, and the windshield for $1,900. Given they are the price paid by the service center, the cost of parts may be sold at a markup and does not include the cost of labor.
But for the owner of the Cybertruck — Malek's friend, Oakland based musician Dartform, it may be the price for security.
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