A Tesla Cybertruck owner says there is a concerted effort to publicly shame people who drive the all-electric truck. He recounts several instances where people pointed and laughed at him while driving his Cybertruck.
Many will opt to get a custom wrap because the steel could get scratched and start rusting, plus they are buying for clout and are now in too deep to stop throwing money away on making it “look” better.
Some have also opted into getting a third party service to chemically deposit a layer of gold on the surface of the steel. Making it an even bigger money sink for little benefit and basically not worth driving around almost at all except for showing off.
Iron particles in the air land on the bare stainless steel, react with it, and rust. It’s the iron particles rusting, not the steel itself. This is called ‘fallout,’ and it mostly comes from brake rotors. It contaminates the surface of all vehicles and needs to be removed, but with paint and clearcoat in between, this reaction doesn’t happen. The ‘rust’ on Cybertrucks is just surface contamination that can be cleaned off. If you left a bunch of modern cars out in the rain for 100 years, the Cybertruck would likely be the only one with anything left of it.
There’s plenty to criticise the Cybertruck for but spreading this rusting myth is dishonest.
Anything with iron can rust, including stainless steel.
Stainless that gets scratched will rust, as well as if the mild steel (or whatever the dust is,) causes a galvanic reaction. Or any where that the stainless is exposed to lesser steel. (Which is why you can’t store stainless with mild.)(including, in point of fact to milde steel dust…)
Alternatively, exposure to corrosives- bug juice, road salt and other deicers, potentially a dozen kinds of automotive fluids.
There’s a reason the rest of the automotive industry doesn’t use exposed stainless anywhere. And that reason me is it rusts (and is difficult to work with, and is more likely to kill people in an impact.)(people at Tesla told musk this. He didn’t care. Musk is an idiot.)
A wired as a source talking about the issues in CA drivers (where there is a lot of salt in the air.)
The paint job on any car, especially one costing 100k+, requires an extreme level of care and maintenance if you want to keep it looking pristine. Many people who own such cars don’t even wash them themselves because they will scratch the clear coat. Personally, I have no desire to waste my time on that, but I’m also not in the market for such a car, so it doesn’t concern me. What I don’t get is why people who have no intention of buying a Cybertruck in the first place are so vocal about how difficult it is to maintain. If anything, I’d imagine these people would just be happy that Cybertruck owners have to deal with all that.
I used to build stainless steel farming equipment for industries like fertilizers and such. The acidic nature of which, would eat through paint. Stainless steel gas to be cleaned of that “surface rust” constantly or that rust will transfer to the stainLESS steel (note: not stainPROOF steel.) 100 years in the elements and no vehicle would be recognizable. Especially knowing the reaction of lithium to water.
I saw a white cyber truck today (a first for me). It even more hideous than the silver and black ones.
I thought they were all plain metal. I wonder if it was a custom paint job.
Many will opt to get a custom wrap because the steel could get scratched and start rusting, plus they are buying for clout and are now in too deep to stop throwing money away on making it “look” better.
Some have also opted into getting a third party service to chemically deposit a layer of gold on the surface of the steel. Making it an even bigger money sink for little benefit and basically not worth driving around almost at all except for showing off.
It doesn’t rust.
Iron particles in the air land on the bare stainless steel, react with it, and rust. It’s the iron particles rusting, not the steel itself. This is called ‘fallout,’ and it mostly comes from brake rotors. It contaminates the surface of all vehicles and needs to be removed, but with paint and clearcoat in between, this reaction doesn’t happen. The ‘rust’ on Cybertrucks is just surface contamination that can be cleaned off. If you left a bunch of modern cars out in the rain for 100 years, the Cybertruck would likely be the only one with anything left of it.
There’s plenty to criticise the Cybertruck for but spreading this rusting myth is dishonest.
Anything with iron can rust, including stainless steel.
Stainless that gets scratched will rust, as well as if the mild steel (or whatever the dust is,) causes a galvanic reaction. Or any where that the stainless is exposed to lesser steel. (Which is why you can’t store stainless with mild.)(including, in point of fact to milde steel dust…)
Alternatively, exposure to corrosives- bug juice, road salt and other deicers, potentially a dozen kinds of automotive fluids.
There’s a reason the rest of the automotive industry doesn’t use exposed stainless anywhere. And that reason me is it rusts (and is difficult to work with, and is more likely to kill people in an impact.)(people at Tesla told musk this. He didn’t care. Musk is an idiot.)
A wired as a source talking about the issues in CA drivers (where there is a lot of salt in the air.)
It does rust.
And you have to wash the car every time it rains? No thanks.
Left untreated, rust can form pitting and become extremely difficult to impossible to restore.
https://bssa.org.uk/bssa_articles/iron-contamination-and-rust-staining-on-stainless-steel/
The paint job on any car, especially one costing 100k+, requires an extreme level of care and maintenance if you want to keep it looking pristine. Many people who own such cars don’t even wash them themselves because they will scratch the clear coat. Personally, I have no desire to waste my time on that, but I’m also not in the market for such a car, so it doesn’t concern me. What I don’t get is why people who have no intention of buying a Cybertruck in the first place are so vocal about how difficult it is to maintain. If anything, I’d imagine these people would just be happy that Cybertruck owners have to deal with all that.
I used to build stainless steel farming equipment for industries like fertilizers and such. The acidic nature of which, would eat through paint. Stainless steel gas to be cleaned of that “surface rust” constantly or that rust will transfer to the stainLESS steel (note: not stainPROOF steel.) 100 years in the elements and no vehicle would be recognizable. Especially knowing the reaction of lithium to water.
The Cybertruck manual actually says you have to clean all bug splatter and bird shit off immediately or else.