Spotting a Tesla Cybertruck in Vancouver is still a rare sight, but even rarer is not being able to see the driver behind the wheel of the $140,000 electric vehicle.
But that was the case recently in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood after an apparently fully tinted truck was seen turning left onto West 4th.
The driver behind the wheel was completely mysterious, but the legality of this practice is a lot less puzzling; according to officials, if this was a fully tinted vehicle, it’s clearly illegal.
“Tinting windows forward of rear passenger windows may come with a fine and/or notice and order being served. The initial fine for illegal window tint is $109,” Vancouver Police Department constable Tania Visintin told Daily Hive.
Claire Fenton/Daily Hive
Within the Motor Vehicle Act, “If a motor vehicle contains manufactured glass, tinting contained within the glass must meet the minimum light transmittancy requirements under the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.”
That said, many custom autobody shops offer the service. Many mechanics also provide tint removals, which appear to range in price. Plus, while you might be able to pay for the service, it’s on the driver to ensure their ride complies with the rules or risk a fine. Daily Hive recently spoke with a Tesla owner who used the self-driving feature in an empty parking lot, only to discover later that driverless vehicles are still illegal here.
A Colorado police station recently defended an officer on its social media after apparent backlash from the EV community when the officer pulled over a tricked-out cybertruck due to the light metre showing only 3%. Like in BC, no tint can be applied to windshields in Colorado, and there are limits on side windows as well.
Commerce City Police Department/Facebook
“Tint this dark — and tint whatsoever on your windshield — is extremely dangerous. And not just for us when we pull you over and have no idea how many people are in the vehicle, what they’re doing, if they’re armed, etc,” the Commerce City Police Department shared on its Facebook page in June.
Commerce City Police Department/Facebook
“It’s also dangerous for other drivers who — let’s say — get into a crash with a vehicle like this. Do you want to get out of your vehicle and approach the other driver when you can’t see them? What about if they flee the scene?” it added, explaining that in some cases, it could be blamed for causing the collision.
Commerce City Police Department/Facebook
In this case, the driver was told to remove the tint or risk an expensive fine.
Back to Vancouver. Regardless of your feelings about the Tesla Cybertruck, there’s a good chance you will be seeing more on the roads. After delays in getting approval from Transport Canada for testing, the company recently got the green light in the form of a temporary exemption.
Orders began rolling in en masse last week, according to a post shared on X.
O Canada pic.twitter.com/UaZFaZ4Cu7
— Cybertruck (@cybertruck) November 5, 2024
They’re heeeEeeEeRE!!
(Vancouver, BC, 🇨🇦) pic.twitter.com/5hgvuFpHPt— 🤖🙌 Teslageschwindigkeit 🙌🤖 (@xsaltwedgex) November 5, 2024
You can book an appointment to test the vehicles out at several Metro Vancouver locations.