Does a viral video genuinely show a Tesla Cybertruck being crushed by a digger or excavator? No, that's not true: According to a detection tool the video was generated using AI. The account that originally posted it has published several similar videos of cars being crushed or destroyed and offers links to a course about AI video creation and a tool to make them.
The video (archived here) was uploaded to a TikTok channel named "Viral Cort" on March 14, 2025 with following description:
Destroying a #cybertruck
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Mar 17 08:18:46 2025 UTC)
@viral.cort81 Destroying a #cybertruck ♬ som original - Viral Cort
AI detection tool DeepFake-o-meter from the University at Buffalo's Media Forensic Lab determined the video had a 99.56 percent likelihood (archived here) of being generated using AI.
The TikTok account @viral.cort81 (archived here) that posted it had a bio that offered to teach people how to create videos like these:
Follow the profile and learn how to create videos ⬇️
The link in the bio (archived here) offered links labeled:
Course where I learned to create these and other videos with AI
Platform where I create my videos
The video also had several artifacts that point to the conclusion it was artificially generated, such as odd lettering on the flags in the background or pieces of debris appearing out of thin air.
