this post was submitted on 13 Feb 2024
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Tesla's Cybertruck may not be so stainless after all::'Literally bulletproof' but needs constant cleaning to stave off corrosion

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[–] [email protected] 128 points 8 months ago (8 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I mean, to be fair no one will be able to beat geely over the next decade.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago

BYD has been flooding the market lately

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[–] [email protected] 74 points 8 months ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 49 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I deliver to a Tesla dealership/lemon farm everyday, and they had one on display. It had a smudge on the driver side rear quarter panel that they never got buffed out.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 8 months ago (1 children)

You don't buff these things. You have to regrain them by rubbing an abrasive material across the panels in one direction same as a DeLorean.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Yeah that certainly reinforces a sense of longevity. Just rub off part of the door every time you have to clean it.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 8 months ago (3 children)

It's sad that there's nothing your can put on the metal, like something to paint on top of it or something. Like something clear, or in different colors even. Ah here I go again, being crazy with my imagination.

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 8 months ago (2 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago (1 children)

What word is supposed to be censored there.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 34 points 8 months ago

lol. Cybertrucks are looking like my sink.

They should invest heavily in Barkeepers Friend. Works pretty well on the sink.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 8 months ago (3 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 8 months ago (2 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 8 months ago (10 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

SS301 is a great material

Totally agree. But is this an appropriate use for it? I regularly have to use sandpaper to remove surface rust from my SS301 knife. And I don't leave that out in the rain. It's just surface rust, doesn't damage anything, but it is rust and it's very ugly.

Thankfully with a knife, it takes two seconds to remove the rust. With an entire car? And body panels with areas that are hard to get to? Honestly if I was going to buy a cybertruck I would paint it.

If you want "real" stainless, you want 316, but it's not as strong and would require significant modifications - making it thicker/heavier/more expensive/worse battery range/etc.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Well, starships don't usually need to worry about rain storms

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Paint, they always need paint. A lot of science went into that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_hgPinCZks

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago

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

[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's relatively common for nice metal bikes to go the unfinished metal route...if they're made of titanium.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago

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

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 23 points 8 months ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Yeah it’s like “I actually like getting brutally raped at the dealership, excited to get my backside exploded!”

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago

Insane levels of copium.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago (2 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago

The cope is strong with that one.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago

Holy shit that's not insignificant! Those things are going to be piles of rust in just a few years.

Insane

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago (3 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago

Tesla has been pretty good at selling vehicles, even really expensive ones. This one has been kind of bizarre though. From the massive and strange body to the issues in production, I'm not sure if we'll start seeing these become more common on the road.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago

Isn't that the butler's job?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago (4 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago (2 children)

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

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago

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...

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

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.

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