[mech975]

Mechanical engineer here-

In the video clip at the top of the article, the carrot is placed at the location closest to the window. Given the location of the hinge for the closing mechanism, this is the place where the hinge has the maximum mechanical advantage. The torque imposed on the motor from the load required to smash the carrot is minimized at this location, and any load-sensing feature designed to prevent this sort of injury would have the most difficult time detecting the load here.

The best comparison for an automatically closing tailgate on other cars would be at the very top of the tailgate. I would like to see this comparison. Comparisons made with carrots placed in other locations are not quite as similar.

Still bad safety, just an interesting aside.

[Klaus23]

The risk also depends on where the potential pinch point is. I doubt that many people put their hand on the top of the roof when the tailgate closes. The Cybertruck's danger zone is exactly where you would put your hand if you were leaning against the car.

It is also debatable how much damage a normal tailgate would do. I have seen several fingers pinched in fully closed car doors and have done it myself at least once. It hurt, but no fingers were chopped off. The latch and door material have enough give to allow space for relatively unhurt fingers. The single sheet metal of the Cybertruck's bonnet looks very sturdy, much to the chagrin of trapped fingers.

It would certainly be possible to increase the safety of the bonnet while maintaining the design and choice of materials. This would probably require a more complex hinge. The bonnet could close normally, but leave a uniform gap of a few centimetres and then pull itself closed. The load sensors would sense resistance equally on each edge and detect any misplaced fingers.