Joseph Fay
- A Tesla owner posted a video trying out the new Cybertruck frunk update by closing it on his finger.
- The experiment led to his finger getting hurt and ending up in a splint.
- The video follows a trend of testing the frunk's safety by closing it on body parts, which isn't advisable.
Tesla owner Joseph Fay said the trend of sticking body parts in the Cyberfrunk frunk to test if it'll close on them needs to end, following an experiment that left his finger in a splint.
Fay stitched a video of a Cybertruck owner closing the frunk on his finger and initially tried out the trend himself prior to the update, which was said to improve the sensor. He placed his arm, hand, and finally finger in the frunk. The frunk left him sore the first time but didn't make a major impact, he said.
After receiving comments that he pointed his finger upward, which may have prevented the frunk from crushing it, Fay said he decided to retry the video with the new update.
Fay was heard struggling in the video and yelling "ow" as he tried to remove his finger from the frunk. The next shot in the video showed him with a splint on his finger. He said the whole trend of sticking body parts inside Tesla's frunk should stop.
"We can kind of cancel that now," Fay said in the video. "I think we can end that. Big thumbs down."
Fay told BI he didn't go to the doctor after he hurt his finger, but he probably should have. He said a previous video showing the wound was removed by TikTok. Business Insider viewed two videos that showed the injured finger, including one with a clear opening in the skin that appeared to extend down to his tendon. In the current version, viewers can see a less graphic version of a deep dent on both sides of his finger.
"The first couple days, I couldn't move my finger at all and I had it in that splint," Fay told BI. "The past couple days, I've had it out and could move it around but it's very tender."
The original video came from Tesla vlogger Jeremy Judkins, who tested out the new Cybertruck update by closing the frunk on his finger, leaving it with a dent and a small skin tear. Others have since tried out the experiment, with one user testing it with a pinky.
After making the video, he released a follow-up saying a Tesla engineer had told him about a new algorithm with the update that makes it close harder each attempt after it senses an obstruction.
Fay said he didn't realize there was an algorithm that made the frunk close harder when it senses resistance. The Cybertruck owner said he closed the frunk on multiple items off-camera before eventually trying his finger.
"Unfortunately when I tried my finger, it was at max strength," Fay said.
Fay said he regrets putting his finger in the frunk and said the biggest lesson is that no one should put anything they don't want breaking in the way of something automatic.
"It got a lot of views and earned a little bit of money," Fay said. "But at the sacrifice of my finger, no I am not glad I did it."
Judkins, whose video of the finger test initially went viral, told BI he didn't mean to start a trend and made the original video as a "little experiment." While the update made it safer, Judkins concluded in his video that it still wasn't fully safe for a finger — and abstained from trying it again.
Tesla has a warning in the owner's manual that says to "use caution around the panel edges on Cybertruck," including the powered frunk. The manual states "neglecting to follow the correct opening procedure for front and rear doors can lead to injury."
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.