Police To Seize YouTuber’s Tesla Cybertruck Following Question To London Mayor By Green Politician

The Metropolitan Police say they will seize a Tesla Cybertruck driven in London by YouTuber Yianni Charalambous, owner of several luxury vehicle wrapping workshops in Southern England. Charalambous aimed to legalize the Albanian-registered Cybertruck for driving in the U.K. and posted several videos on his quest for a Certificate of Conformity for the oversized vehicle. If this quest had been successful—via an individual vehicle assessment (IVA)—his would have been the first Cybertruck allowed on British roads.

However, the plan now appears to be in tatters thanks to an intervention from London Assembly Member Caroline Russell. The Green politician used a Mayoral question to quiz London Mayor Sadiq Khan on why the Metropolitan police had not seized this particular Cybertruck despite Charalambous not having valid insurance for the illegal-in-the-U.K. electric vehicle.

Russell pointed to a YouTube video showing Charalambous driving the Cybertruck on roads in London and South East England. In the video, police officers were shown stopping Charalambous but then allowing him to drive away without checking whether the Cybertruck had a Certificate of Conformity or whether Charalambous had adequate insurance.

“It’s worrying that Met officers failed to detain a Tesla Cybertruck on the streets of London, apparently unaware that the vehicle is not road legal in the U.K.,” said Russell.

“It’s frankly terrifying that such a brutal vehicle, designed without a thought for pedestrian safety was able to roam around our city streets. This incompetence [by police]

is not just disappointing, it’s potentially catastrophic.”

If he was caught driving a foreign registered motor vehicle without a Certificate of Conformity in the U.K. by a knowledgeable police officer, Charalambous could be fined. “A UK resident cannot drive a vehicle displaying foreign number plates in the U.K.,” says the Department for Transport, adding that an “imported car must not be driven on foreign number plates by a UK resident, except to and from [an annual safety check and a]

pre-booked IVA [appointment].”

In one of his videos, Charalambous said he was legally allowed to drive his Cybertruck in the U.K. because the Albanian seller had provided him with a green card, an international certificate of insurance issued in Albania. This is another no-no says the DfT: “Driving an unregistered vehicle would render any insurance invalid.”

The Albanian importer of the Cybertruck could legally drive the vehicle in the U.K. for six months on overseas number plates.

In a reply to Russell, published February 4, Khan said:

“The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) have examined the YouTube video, which appears to show an officer stopping the vehicle, under section 163 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, to check the driver’s documentation before allowing the driver to continue their journey. The MPS Roads Policing Unit will follow up on the driver’s details, inspect the vehicle, and seize the vehicle from a public place if appropriate.”

The Mayor’s statement added that the police would be checking whether the “vehicle has been modified to meet England and Wales legislation.”

The police will also issue officers guidance on “Tesla Cybertrucks and road traffic legislation,” according to the statement. The Cybertruck is the pet project of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

In January, Greater Manchester police seized a Cybertruck that was being driven in Bury. The driver did not have valid insurance. The angular vehicle was seized under section 165 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which gives police the power to obtain the names, addresses, and evidence of insurance.

Greater Manchester police stated at the time that it was not legal to drive a Cybertruck in the U.K. because it would not meet U.K. or European safety standards, including safety for pedestrians and cyclists. The fitting of rubber bumpers to a Cybertruck’s sharp edges is not enough for the vehicle to pass pedestrian safety standards.

Charalambous posted a video about this Bury case but did not cease driving his Cybertruck. His business has been approached for a comment on this story.

“If we get to register this with English [number] plates, you’re going to see an influx of these cars in the UK,” predicted Charalambous in one of his videos. These difficult-to-pass IVA tests are administered by the U.K. government’s Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, or DVSA, an agency of the U.K.’s Department for Transport.

As his first video reveals, Charalambous knew that the sharp-edged pickup did not meet EU and U.K. pedestrian safety standards.

In another of his Cybertruck videos, Charalambous said he had found a “loophole” in U.K. regulations that would allow him to keep driving the vehicle indefinitely. He claimed that by traveling to France via the Eurotunnel he could return immediately, restarting a six-month period in which he said his insurance would be valid.

“Given that this vehicle is not legal to drive in the U.K., why is the [Metropolitan Police] allowing it to continue to be driven?” asked Russell of the Mayor, a champion of people-friendly streets in London. With her intervention, this particular Cybertruck now looks set to be seized.

The Metropolitan Police have been asked when this seizure will occur, and what will happen to the impounded Cybertruck. There was speculation that the Cybertruck seized in Greater Manchester could be crushed. This Cybertruck was believed to be owned by the same Albanian national who sold his other Cybertruck to Charalambous. Greater Manchester Police said the Albanian national provided all required documentation for the release of this vehicle.

However, a statement from the force added: “The vehicle is not road legal in the U.K. and it will need removal via recovery truck and be transported from our garage to private land, never touching public roads.”

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