That's the nice thing about CVTs. If for some reason you decide to stomp the go pedal to the floor, it's seamless and stepless with little/no feel of shock transfer to the drive-train and occupants. My experience with them however is only with late model Subaru and Nissan vehicles. I did drive a new CVT Saturn Vue back in 2002-03. That was a pile of mush all the time. I'm sure there's greater forces and stresses internal to the CVT if you beat on it, but as far as tearing up the overall vehicle, I would guess there's less chance of that with a CVT over a conventional AT or MT.
With everything being E-throttle now, throttle is typically taken away if neutral drop type shenanigans are attempted.