This incident occurred in Aproz, Valais, on February 27, 2025. The Cybertruck, spotted with Basel license plates, doesn’t meet Swiss (or broader European) road safety and compliance standards. Its design—featuring sharp edges, heavy weight (over 8,800 pounds), and stainless steel construction—clashes with regulations that prioritize pedestrian safety and limit vehicle mass for standard driving licenses. In Switzerland, vehicles exceeding 7,700 pounds typically require a special license, which the driver likely didn’t have.
Reports indicate the driver attempted to skirt the rules by using plates from another vehicle, possibly from his garage, since the Cybertruck itself can’t be legally registered for public roads in the country. The police confiscated the plates and the driver’s license, took the vehicle out of circulation, and arrested the owner due to this breach of traffic laws. Posts on X and local sentiment suggest this isn’t an isolated issue—Cybertrucks have faced similar scrutiny in other European nations like the UK for the same reasons: they’re seen as too big, too dangerous, and non-compliant with local standards. Tesla has acknowledged these challenges and doesn’t officially sell the Cybertruck in Europe, but some owners still import them, leading to clashes with authorities.
