Tesla's Cybertruck may not be so stainless after all
Owners report rust forming on Tesla Cybertruck
Tesla's Cybertruck may not be so stainless after all::'Literally bulletproof' but needs constant cleaning to stave off corrosion
yet another feature a regular Car can do better than this truck. its pretty damn sad when your truck fails at basic vehicle properties, before you even get to what its supposed to be, 'truck'. kinnnnda comical how bad this thing is.
such sweet nectar the schadenfreude, i could live off it for days.
Imagine spending 80K on a truck that starts rusting in days. Oh the poor Elon Musk's s***ers. It might be a really hard blow to feel that betrayed by their idol.
This cybertruck fiasco is getting more ridiculous by the day.
lol. Cybertrucks are looking like my sink.
They should invest heavily in Barkeepers Friend. Works pretty well on the sink.
Yeah. My understanding is that Deloreans were shockingly rust resistant but were also panels specifically so that they could be replaced.
I don't know metallurgy/material science well enough to know if cybertrucks actually used good quality stainless steel or cut corners. And I can easily see a world where people assume the dirt is rust because of paranoia or just looking for internet drama/clout.
But... Rust or no rust, those cars are pretty fucked. Because they don't even have a clearcoat. And considering we are in the season where roads are covered with salt and sand and cars are constantly bombarded with a highly abrasive slurry at speed, those panels are going to see a LOT of wear and damage.
Tesla uses SS301 stainless. DeLorean used SS304.
301 is cheaper, less resistant to corrosion, can resist more force applied to it before failure, formes better in stamping, doesn't tolerate high-temperatures as well.
My guess is they used 301 due to cost and forming properties. Supposedly they use 301 on the Starships, so bulk pricing would help keep production costs low. Had they used 304 the raw material cost and cost of production at volume would be higher but they would be less likely to have these corrosion issues, assuming they aren't welding the panels.
SS301 is a great material. It's workable, ductile, and still plenty hard. It's absolutely perfect for work holding in an industrial spot welding environment.
Why on earth they'd use that for body panels is fucking beyond me. Ok, it's bullet proof, kinda, which is cool I guess? I've never been shot at in a car, I don't know anyone who's ever been shot at in car.
I know lots of people with cars that they don't like to rust. Or scratch tho. Seems like the bigger problem in car design honestly
Well, starships don't usually need to worry about rain storms
Paint, they always need paint. A lot of science went into that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_hgPinCZks
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Even "good quality" stainless steel can easily rust, as anyone who's owned quality kitchen knives will tell you. Some stainless alloys are more resistant than others -- but exposed to the right conditions they all corrode.
I saw one in person 2 days ago. I took a picture, and none of my coworkers think it's a real picture (or that I took it).
It was surreal. I could see it coming from WAY down the road and I was thinking to myself "there is absolutely no way I am seeing a cybertruck right now"
I am dumbfounded they actually made them. I still can't believe what I saw the other day
Tesla is just recognizing that each cybertruck owner has different color preferences, so they deliver the cybertruck without any paint or coating so the owners can coat it themselves /s
It's relatively common for nice metal bikes to go the unfinished metal route...if they're made of titanium.
Even so, my friend's ti bike has stains on it that he can't get out sort of polishing/ brushing it
What a pos. Links to pictures here- https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/cybertruck-spots-corrosion.12242/
Lmaooo
Yeah it’s like “I actually like getting brutally raped at the dealership, excited to get my backside exploded!”
Insane levels of copium.
Yes this forum sounds a lot like Elon's exclusive club, where you are not allowed to say anything critical of the godfather or his products.
One of the replies in that thread:
I’m know I’m a weirdo but I actually kinda like the corrosion and hopefully the associated patina that will come with it.
Wow.
The cope is strong with that one.
I dunno, a patina can look quite good though, if you like that aesthetic.
Holy shit that's not insignificant! Those things are going to be piles of rust in just a few years.
Insane
But really who cares, we are not forced to buy these cheesy blobs of cheap grade stainless. Let the tech bros take one for the team.
The people who get in a crash with one probably care
Can't wait to see what happens when one gets dinged by road gravel, it's going to be even uglier.
Oh and about that 5-6k coating that will prevent the rust? It'll just prevent you from seeing the rust, don't worry, the rust will get there, it always does, that's one of a dozen reasons why steel has been moved away from for decades.
Done properly it should prevent rust. Especially on already rust-resistant metal. And you could use clear paint.
They won't be applying the coating to the back side of the panels....
I think it's shown to not be very rust resistant.
Isn't that the butler's job?
Real stainless steel does not rust. I brew beer and daily soak down my stainless steel sink/kettles daily. Even harsh chemicals (muritiac acid, chlorinated caustic soda) don't affect it.
Theres no such thing as "real stainless". Stainless steel 304 is corrosion resistant, it's the cheapest and most common. 316 is better at corrosion resistance and is "marine grade" since it will hold up better to salt water. 316L is some of the best at resisting corrosion, it's more expensive than 304 and is used in lab and surgical equipment. There are a lot of other types, like 309 for higher heat applications, etc.
Cybertruck is probably made from 304.
Definately not supprised that cybertrucks are having this issue. Especially with road salt in the winter. I'm sure the engineers at Tesla saw this coming too.
Not the cheapest, there's 17-4 and 18-8 before 304.
There are a lot of grades of stainless, but they all can rust. What you're doing with your kettles is unlikely to cause rust, because you are actively cleaning them daily. Letting a contaminant sit on them and periodically get wet without being cleaned our dried is a worst case scenario, and also what constantly happens to cars.
https://www.unifiedalloys.com/blog/stainless-grades-families
I am not an expert - just an avid knife freak - but in my experience "Stainless" means "Stain Less" not "Stain Resistent". Eg. s35vn is relatively high quality stainless knife steel - that does not mean it ain't gonna pickup stains - all mine did... I suspect one of the differences between my knifes / Elons Cybertruck vs. your cookware is that your cookware is mirror polished while my knives and the cybertruck are sporting "satin finish" which looks quite esthetically first 5 mnts - but is quite inpractical...
What makes stainless steel stainless is that it corrodes quickly, uniformly and forms a dense rich en Cr carbide coating (I dont know how it is called in english). This reduces the rate at which it corrodes enormously. This is the same on most "corrosion resistant" metals and alloys, like aluminium, titanium and zirconium.
There are multiple grades of SS, some of them are better at halting corrosion than others. And given the right environment (chemical + temperature) it will ultimately corrode.
Some geometrical obstacles* can produce other, more localized, types of corrosion... again, sorry, I dont know the technical words in english.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
CEO Elon Musk first unveiled the electric pickup model back in 2019, claiming that its "ultra-hard stainless steel" body and "transparent metal" glass were "literally bulletproof."
Though beset with production issues and missing its speculative 2021-22 release, its unique polygonal design – as with anything Tesla and Musk-related – attracted legions of devotees eager to get their hands on the steering wheel.
Members pondered whether orange stains could be caused by "rail dust" from certain vehicles being delivered via train, yet Raxar posted some images of his Cybertruck's body after driving it for "2 days in rain."
In a separate thread, another user, vertigo3pc, reported that "corrosion was forming on the metal" of his brand-new Cybertruck after 11 days in the "LA rain," leading some to worry that the steel body was becoming contaminated during production.
The documentation says: "To prevent damage to the exterior, immediately remove corrosive substances (such as grease, oil, bird droppings, tree resin, dead insects, tar spots, road salt, industrial fallout, etc.).
The Register asked Tesla whether it agreed with the description of Cybertruck corrosion as the "norm," and if not, what the company expected to cause the spots documented.
The original article contains 590 words, the summary contains 194 words. Saved 67%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Sounds about right
Stainless is not stain proof. Different grades of stainless have different levels of rust resistance depending mostly on chrome, nickel, molybdenum, and carbon levels, but even the most resistant grade will rust under some conditions. The primary method of rust protection, what makes stainless stainless, is a continuous layer of chrome oxide on the surface. The problem is that layer is weak to chlorides like salt or bleach so exposure to such can allow rust to begin. Adding more nickel, more chrome, and more moly can help but nothing is rust proof, even extreme marine grades like 317L can rust.
Edit: the cybertruck is made using their own "30X" grade. The most common is 304 or 18/8, which has around 18% chrome and 8% nickel. 302 has less, 309 has more. I would bet it is near 304 as that is the most common austenitic (nonmagnetic) stainless steel. This grade does not have the molybdenum added to "marine stainless" grades like 316 and 317. That molybdenum provides some resistance to chlorides which is why it is used in marine applications and commercial kitchens. It is also quite a bit more expensive.
Didn't realise I had subscribed to a cars community
This community has a hard on for anything remotely related to Musk, so it’s no surprise when his daughters(?) crayon drawing truck gets a ton of attention.
To anyone who is even slightly surprised by this, my cat has turds in his cat box with higher IQs than you.
This applies to anyone currently holding stock in any company associated with Elon Musk. You are all dumb fucks, and deserve whatever is coming to you. this goes doubly for anyone working for any of these companies still.
Really, what’s wrong with you people?
Anyone holding stock in any Elon-directed company and expecting to make money at this point is a dumb fuck. I don't think pre-emptively insulting people here is winning you any popularity, though.
except by short selling; I applaud any risk takers tanking the value of those shares.
The smarties sold a while back.
I’m not going to apologize for pointing out the very real fact that owning stock in a company owned by Hitler/Musk is not only financial suicide, but also tantamount to investing int he Nazi party.
If you don’t like that being pointed out, go fuck yourself. I can survive the downvotes because internet wha-whas don’t hurt me
If SpsceX was publicly traded, I would have certainly bought in.
Lol. Tesla stock down 30% since June.
Tesla, seriously, that roaring sound that’s rising in pitch is y’all about to slam into the ground. Eject the dead weight already.
I mean, to be fair no one will be able to beat geely over the next decade.
BYD has been flooding the market lately
zooms out 5 years
Up nearly 800%
Yup, keep riding that baby down. I bought in 2011, sold 2021. Thanks for buying me a house!
Now I get to watch that child Elon fuck up this golden goose, and I don't have to lose money while I laugh!
My dude, even legacy stocks that pay dividends like fucking Costco and Microsoft are up 250+% the past 5 years. The market has been absolutely bonkers the past 5 years, and acting like Tesla is some incredible investment and not just a meme gambling stock is pretty hilarious.