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Owners report rust forming on Tesla Cybertruck
- aaalll 3y agoPatina cybertruck coming soon
- samstave 3y agoA rat-rod style Patina Cybertruck would be awesome. How is the Cybertruck built, monocoque/unibody fully patina'd Here is what FOOCUS thinks of that idea: https://i.imgur.com/gIe5IH0.jpg https://i.imgur.com/gIe5IH0.jpg https://i.imgur.com/vFbVBfd.jpg https://i.imgur.com/vFbVBfd.jpg
- gruez 3y agoDirect link to images, since the article doesn't have it and they're buried in the thread: https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/rust-spots-corrosion-is-the-norm.11988/post-240328 https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/rust-spot...
- concordDance 3y agoThanks for the link, looks like it varies from truck to truck judging by the other comments in that thread.
- neogodless 3y agoYup and as noted elsewhere, there was a previous submission with about 50+ comments on it, which links to this article which includes the photos. https://www.carsdirect.com/automotive-news/green-technology/tesla-cybertruck-may-have-a-rust-problem https://www.carsdirect.com/automotive-news/green-technology/...
- CommieBobDole 3y agoThose look a lot like the rust spots my stainless steel table knives get in the dishwasher (or used to get, before I started hand-washing them) - it's like a little bubble of rust that you can remove with Barkeeper's Friend or similar, but it leaves a tiny black pit that will rust again when exposed to the same environment. I don't know if it's an inclusion in the steel that's rusting, or if the act of rusting creates the pit in the regular steel that's then susceptible to rusting again.
- malfist 3y agoIf you buy higher quality stainless steel (18/10, or 304), those spots don't form, or take many more years to show up. Wonder if tesla is using 304, or have cheeped out with 430. If it's pitting already, makes me think it's the cheaper option.
- AlexandrB 3y agoThey claim to have developed their own alloy. > According to matmatch.com, “The Cybertruck exoskeleton is made from Tesla’s own stainless steel alloy, referred to as the Ultra-hard 30X Cold-rolled Stainless Steel. While the blend is proprietary, Elon mentioned during the product launch that the exoskeleton material of the vehicle is the same as the SpaceX Starship shell.” [1] https://www.worldautosteel.org/why-steel/steel-muscle-in-new-vehicles/tesla-cybertruck/ https://www.worldautosteel.org/why-steel/steel-muscle-in-new...
- nixass 3y agoI read whole paragraph as "yeah, cheap"
- westbywest 3y agoGood thing the 304L (etc) comprising Starship's shell won't be subjected to repeated heatings. https://app.aws.org/forum/topic_show.pl?tid=7585 https://app.aws.org/forum/topic_show.pl?tid=7585
- HumblyTossed 3y ago> is the same as the SpaceX Starship shell No wonder it's rusting, they're recycling all the exploded Starship shells.
- chociej 3y agoI can't find anything more than hearsay about this, but I've now encountered the idea several times that Tesla chose or developed an unusual alloy to mitigate oilcanning, a phenomenon where large, flat pieces of sheet metal tend to cup or bow. Here's some anecdata that is probably the most coherent read I can find on the topic of Cybertruck oilcanning: http://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2023/08/dude-wheres-my-cybertruck.html http://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2023/08/dude-wheres-my-cybe... Seems the alloy is probably less rust resistant than more common alloys, and also can't take a clearcoat without losing some valuable properties? More hearsay: https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/197sivs/tesla_warns_that_cybertruck_needs_to_be_cleaned/ https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/197sivs/tesla_...
- vdaea 3y agoLooks like rail dust to me.
- bradgessler 3y agoTesla should get ahead of it and ship a “rust” finish.
- HankB99 3y agoI have lots of SS stuff that has rust spots. I suppose that there are inclusions of "not SS" included in the metal. Steel alloys are not, in general, homogeneous. They are often composed of a microscopic mixture of different materials.
- klodolph 3y agoGenerally I would think of stainless steel as “stain-resistant”, not “stainproof”. I used stainless steel equipment in the darkroom and I always saw some amount of staining or corrosion. It will even rust, under certain conditions.
- apercu 3y agoDarkroom chemicals versus natural environment? (Though maybe it's pollution or trace elements in organic materials causing the rust / pitting on the CT?).
- klodolph 3y agoDarkroom chemicals have varying pH, both acid and alkaline, there’s various salts involved, and there’s a decent amount of metal-on-metal contact in development tanks (you load the film onto a metal reel, and the metal reel goes into a metal tank, and they rub against each other).
- apercu 3y agoFair, 90% of my darkroom experience was a stat cam and we used plastic tubs and rubber(ized?) rollers. They always stained but since I wasn't using metal...
- acdha 3y agoThat’s the right way to think about it - it comes in different grades based on the expected level of exposure to things like strong acids or bases but it’s not magic. You can especially see this in appliances where stainless steel was marketed as a premium product but the cheaper lines (or cheaply-made / expensively-marketed) are much less durable than the painted metal they used to use.
- calamari4065 3y agoIt's just bare, raw stainless steel without even a clearcoat? Who could possibly think that's a good idea?
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- llm_nerd 3y agoI was under the impression that stainless steel didn't rust, albeit obviously depending upon the grade. Like my kitchen sink is made of stainless steel and doesn't have a clearcoat. Has never rusted and won't over decades. And to be clear, I think the CT is an incredibly ugly monstrosity that is Tesla's jump the shark moment, so I'm not saying this defensively.
- nullindividual 3y agoPut a scratch in your sink. It'll rust.
- KeplerBoy 3y agoProper stainless steal doesn't rust. It's not even coated. Source: Worked as a mechanical engineer designing industrial meat grinders and cutters. Folks throw in bones, meat, ice, salt and then heat it and grind it to a pulp but it never rusts.
- nullindividual 3y agoThank you for bringing your experience to the thread! How many "improper" varieties of stainless steel are there? Are the fully stainless steels that will not rust under any circumstances exceptionally expensive compared to their less-than-ideal counterparts? I would assume given my experience with "stainless" steel sinks must mean they're less than ideal quality which is not a shocking surprise.
- elil17 3y ago
- jader201 3y agoPrevious discussion (50 votes, 59 comments): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39354342 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39354342
- exabrial 3y agoStainless steel is a self-protecting metal no? Washing it with dishsoap would be shortsighted. There's also a absolute ton of stainless alloys, no idea which one they selected for the exterior panels. Curious if they'll survive Colorado winters with the salt.
- shiftpgdn 3y agoColorado doesn't salt the roads (for the most part anyway). They use de-icer, sand, and gravel.
- r2_pilot 3y agoDe-icer is basically salt.
- instagib 3y agoNot always. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deicing https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deicing We use the glycols on aircraft and some electron equipment
- epgui 3y agoYes, but not on roads…
- nullindividual 3y agoTo the source, batman! https://www.codot.gov/travel/winter-driving/snow-removal-and-safety https://www.codot.gov/travel/winter-driving/snow-removal-and... > CDOT uses a variety of products to treat Colorado highways during a winter storm. All snow removal products contain salt with added corrosion inhibitors used to prevent or remove the buildup of ice and snow on roads and minimize the impact on vehicles. ---- > CDOT makes an anti-icing brine mix in-house at a rate of 42 cents per gallon. This product is applied hours before a snowstorm or ice storm and will appear as white stripes on the roadway once dry. > Unlike other anti-icing products used throughout the country, CDOT's brine mix contains a corrosion inhibitor, which helps prevent damage on both vehicles and infrastructure. Once snow begins to fall, or the temperature drops below freezing, crews will stop using the anti-icer and switch over to de-icers. ---- > Solid de-icers are used for ant-icing and de-icing on roadways during winter weather conditions. CDOT uses two types of solid de-icers: > Ice slicer — made of granular salt and magnesium chloride. > Sand or sand/salt mixture — mainly used in high elevations and the eastern plains where more extreme cold temperatures exist, and more traction is needed.
- adlpz 3y agoNot gonna lie, a Corten steel Cybertruck would be very cool.
- fastball 3y agoNow I want a Cybertruck made of Damascus steel.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- antiquark 3y agoTrue... it would have a real "Star Wars" look to it.
- karaterobot 3y agoI agree with you insofar as I don't think it would look worse than a brand new Cybertruck, but that's not saying much.
- turtlesdown11 3y agoYeah rust trails all over the windows would be a great feature! Who needs transparent windows after all?
- cozzyd 3y agoSilly people, taking their fancy trucks outdoors
- AeroNotix 3y agoCanyonaroooooooooooO!
- sonicanatidae 3y agoYou mean the rust-covered Truck, endorsed by a Clown?
- bamboozled 3y agoReminds me a lot more of "The Homer": https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer
- matttproud 3y ago:mild shock: Can't wait to see what one of these screen doored submarines looks like after two years of Minnesota winters.
- jonstickman 3y agoLikely environmental contamination - iron in the environment or more likely contamination from other cars at the car wash. https://www.stainlessfoundry.com/metallurgy/knowledgebase/iron-residue-contamination/ https://www.stainlessfoundry.com/metallurgy/knowledgebase/ir...
- almost_usual 3y agoHa, nice. Might as well rattle can the whole thing with some Rustoleum Flat Black. Keep it on hand for scratches. I do this for the rock sliders on my Tacoma.
- JR1427 3y agoit's a feature, not a bug. Looks more rugged and manly...
- jibal 3y agoHeh, thought this was going to be about a Rust ecosystem for programming trucks.
- ceejayoz 3y agoJust call it a "patina" "further enhancing the natural look". https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204172 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204172 > The leather iPhone case is made from natural leather. Its appearance will change as you use it. It might acquire a patina and might change color due to the oils from your skin and direct sunlight, further enhancing the natural look. (I have one. Most of my "patina" is bits peeling off; I regret the purchase.)
- cupofjoakim 3y agoWell, leather is leather. Of course there will be changes in its' appearance over time. What did you expect?
- ceejayoz 3y agoI did not expect half of the leather to peel off.
- epgui 3y agoThat is not the same thing as patina, which is a real but different thing.
- sonicanatidae 3y agoAre you sure? Apple failed to make any distinction between the two.
- bdcravens 3y agoI've owned several. (and am sad I'll never buy another) Aside from hard drops, I've never had that experience. My current one has worn down a bit where my finger usually rests on the back, but the leather is fully intact. Any chance you may have gotten ahold of a fake one? I've seen several online which have very convincing packaging, like this eBay listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/355320108334 https://www.ebay.com/itm/355320108334
- concordDance 3y agoThe most important question is how common this is and how severe the average case is. If it only affects one car in 20 then the main effect will be bad PR for Tesla rather than a noticeable diminishment of owner enjoyment. I suspect its fairly rare tbh, it being common would likely have been raised years ago and a fix (including coating) implemented.
- mynameisvlad 3y agoIt was pretty openly touted as coat-less stainless steel from the announcement. Their hubris would have never allowed them to add a clear coat. They still haven’t added rain sensors or proper blind spot monitors because of hubris, and those have been common complaints for years. What makes you believe this would be different?
- concordDance 3y agoWell I guess we'll find out soon enough as we see them on the road and can have a look ourselves. I'd be happy to take a bet on this if we can nail down the specifics.
- mynameisvlad 3y agoWhat even is this answer? People are complaining about it right now. The owner’s manual explicitly states it’s a potential issue. By all accounts this is a known and actively occurring problem. What, exactly, is there to “find out soon enough”?
- concordDance 3y agoAs I said above, frequency. The owner's manual for every car says this is a potential issue. E.g. https://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/vdirsnet/OwnerManual/Home/Content?variantid=9043&languageCode=en&countryCode=USA&Uid=G2195905&ProcUid=G2194034&userMarket=CAN&div=f&vFilteringEnabled=False&buildtype=web https://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/vdirsnet/Own... And yet most cars you see on the road look okay. Unless this is substantially more common than others cars this could be much ado about nothing.
- droopyEyelids 3y agoI see a lot of people talking about stainless here without listing the common alloy types: 304 Stainless Steel: Composition: 18% Chromium, 8% Nickel. Properties: Excellent corrosion resistance, good formability, non-magnetic (may become slightly magnetic after cold working). Common Uses: Kitchen equipment, food processing equipment, architectural trim, and general hardware. 316 Stainless Steel: Composition: 16% Chromium, 10% Nickel, 2% Molybdenum. Properties: Superior corrosion resistance to 304 in harsh environments, excellent formability, non-magnetic. Common Uses: Chemical processing equipment, medical devices, marine applications, and any environment where greater corrosion resistance is required. 430 Stainless Steel: Composition: Approximately 17% Chromium, no Nickel. Properties: Good corrosion resistance, strong magnetism, lower cost than 300 series. Common Uses: Domestic appliances, automotive trim, and interior architectural features. Tesla says they use some proprietary type thats in the 301 series. https://www.sae.org/news/2020/06/tesla-cybertruck-stainless-steel https://www.sae.org/news/2020/06/tesla-cybertruck-stainless-...
- jtriangle 3y agoThey're likely using 301, which won't stand up to free chloride ions well. 304 or 316L would be better, n50 or n60 would be best, but you've just doubled the cost of the panels...
- algo_trader 3y agoWhat is the cheaper alternative for 316 in marine applications? Specially long term floating objects such as buoys, with minimal physical contacts, and a painting/maintenance schedule is possible
- CommieBobDole 3y agoI know from personal experience that some types of stainless steel will develop rust spots under certain circumstances - I have some stainless steel table knives that will rust in the dishwasher, and a couple of stainless steel soap dispensers that rusted through entirely, so this doesn't surprise me a lot. The real question I have is, is this thing actually supposed to be a serious vehicle that you can drive around and keep outside and expect it not to rust/fall apart/whatever? It doesn't seem to be very well-designed, I just sort of assumed it was a meme product like the Boring Company flamethrower that they were selling a few years back. Something that you buy because you have a lot of disposable money and want to show other people you're in on the joke, that's not supposed to really be used for whatever thing it ostensibly does. It seems like if it was supposed to be a real truck, it would be, well, good.
- JohnMakin 3y agoPay a visit to the cybertruck subreddit - it’ll explain a lot
- RealityVoid 3y agoThey poured a lot of engineering resources in it. And it has some interesting stuff. But, yes, I am not sure how they expected this to be a wide success.
- lenerdenator 3y agoThe CyberTruck is what a person who has never done real work with a truck imagines a truck should be. Trying to pick up exactly one standard-size bag of cement mix out of the bed from the side would have told them that their design was flawed.
- mrguyorama 3y agoThe vast majority of trucks are used as trucks about as often as my hatchback is.
- lenerdenator 3y ago
- JAlexoid 3y agoAs someone with a top of the range first release Model Y - stay away from the first three years of Tesla production models. The build quality of Tesla is abysmal.
- bdcravens 3y agoIt's an iPhone: beautiful (eye of the beholder and all that) when new, but everyone will know you need to wrap it and cover it up for regular daily use.
- epgui 3y agoI’m careful with my iPhones (which mostly means not throwing them around and setting them face down on flat surfaces) and have never put them in cases. No problem.
- timeon 3y ago> beautiful I get the design intent but, like with SUVs (and unlike iPhone), there is lacks of proportion. So end result is lipstick on a pig.
- aldarisbm 3y agoI'm as ready as the next person to bash Tesla, but "Owners" is really "Owner". There's only one person that posted pics in the whole thread that has lasted several days.
- sonicanatidae 3y agoI'm curious. Do you think it's just limited to one person or does it seem to match the over-promise, under-deliver that Telsa has become known for?
- bilsbie 3y agoHow did the delorean handle this?
- lgkk 3y agoPeople who still buy Tesla are honestly.. I’m not even going to say it. But you know. Unless you’ve drank the kool aid. And I speak as someone who had a Tesla since 2018.
- Sohcahtoa82 3y agoI bought a Tesla in 2019. I love it. It's a great car. I would not buy a Tesla today. I used to dream about the Roadster 2.0, but I don't like the direction they've gone in design of the car. I'm hoping the Corvette EV impresses, because that's likely going to be my next car.
- wnevets 3y agoOnly a genius could invent a stainless truck that immediately rust.
- rainbowzootsuit 3y agoOil the surface of the truck occasionally like the ways on a milling machine.
- mglz 3y agoWon't the oil seep into plastic parts and damage them? How about the glass getting greasy? My mill gets fairly icky just from metal and wood chips, I don't want to imagine what street goo + oil would be like.
- rainbowzootsuit 3y agoI always forget the /s. Anyway the way to fuck up stainless steel is to rub some non stainless steel on it which breaks down the passivation layer. This is why you can buy stainless tools (eg Wiha makes driver bits in stainless)to use on fasteners so they won't be contaminated. A new way to deface a cyber truck would probably be to find a way to invisibly contaminate its surface with regular steel so it doesn't show up until it begins to rust in the pattern you've chosen for your defacement. The posted probablem may just be little ferrous particles of road grime settling onto the surface and breaking the passivation layer. I wonder if DeLoreans suffer from this problem too?
- mglz 3y ago> I always forget the /s. Derp :) > A new way to deface a cyber truck would probably be to find a way to invisibly contaminate its surface with regular steel so it doesn't show up until it begins to rust in the pattern you've chosen for your defacement. Tyre Extinguishers might be interested.
- phone8675309 3y ago[flagged]
- tartrate 3y agoHate to say it's a user error not following the manual. https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/cybertruck-corrosion-per-owner-manual.11445/ https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/cybertruc...
- guax 3y agoHate to say it, but it's a terrible solution. To keep your INDESTRUCTIBLE WORK TRUCK from corrosion in less than 6 months of ownership you have to clean it immediately if it even touches the wild and unrecommended environment of the OUTSIDE. It is bad user ownership if its expected and advertised as such, chefs knives are sold as fragile and requiring regular maintenance. Tesla advertises this as bullet proof, amphibian, workhorse, f150 breakfast eater jesus truck.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- pvaldes 3y agoJust cover all the metal parts with a few lames of polished granite. The car design will gladly benefit of it. Or maybe glue a fine layer of your best stainless steel each few years.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- jcaprani 3y agoIn the marine industry, 316 is standard.