OT: seen a cybertruck on the road?

[Pinned]

Seen a few, it's an odd vehicle - definitely more of a "look at me" for people who would never otherwise drive a pickup truck.

[peanutgallery]

I've seen 2

not a lot of utility going on. A Fool and his $$$ are soon parted seems appropriate. But what do I know?

[jimoots]

Originally Posted by EB

Wait until these owners find out about the corrosion properties of stainless steel.

Grain of salt but I saw a few comments on FB about owners complaining about rust after a bit of rain.

[peanutgallery]

Salt

Originally Posted by jimoots

Grain of salt but I saw a few comments on FB about owners complaining about rust after a bit of rain.

[verticaldoug]

Originally Posted by EB

Wait until these owners find out about the corrosion properties of stainless steel.

I am sure the brochure says the skin is pure adamantium.

And just think of the orange weathering as a patina, much like a copper roof ages when it turns green.

[SlowPokePete]

Looks like somebody knocked a refrigerator over.

Where's the ice maker?

SPP

[kppolich]

Originally Posted by jimoots

Grain of salt but I saw a few comments on FB about owners complaining about rust after a bit of rain.

Check where you get your 'news' as you'e been another victim of FakeNewsBook.


Tesla has used a proprietary ultra-hard 30X cold-rolled stainless steel alloy for the Cybertruck. Despite those who may think otherwise, the Cybertruck’s stainless steel body, like all cars, still requires regular care to maintain its appearance, and in this case, it is no different.

What is happening here is that surface contamination, the most popular theory being rail dust, is sitting on the body panels of the Cybertruck. Since it is stainless steel, the surface contamination is reacting with the alloy, resulting in the formation of these tiny rust spots.

This isn’t going to cause any long term damage, and these tiny rust deposits can be easily wiped off. According to Cybertruck Lead Engineer Wes Morrill, using products such as Bar Keeper’s Friend can remove the spots, or citrisurf77 can loosen the deposit and you can simply wipe these spots away.

So in the end the Cybertruck isn’t rusting, but tiny rust spots are forming due to a surface contamination sitting on the body panels. If you happen to live in an area with these sort of contaminants, then simply clean your Cybertruck, just like you would be doing with any other car you own.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by kppolich

Check where you get your 'news' as you'e been another victim of FakeNewsBook.

Imagine that……. The amount of mis- and disinformation about these is incredible.

[mcteague]

I saw a video where they showed how sharp and pointy many of the panel edges are. But, still with the standard Tesla lack of alignment. Regs say no pop-up headlights but nothing about razor edges I suppose.

Tim

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by mcteague

I saw a video where they showed how sharp and pointy many of the panel edges are. But, still with the standard Tesla lack of alignment. Regs say no pop-up headlights but nothing about razor edges I suppose.

Tim

I’ve also seen these sharp points and yes, they surprise me as well. Definitely a potential safety issue. As for the poorly aligned panels, this isn’t surprising due to the properties of stainless steel shaping.

I’m generally pro-EV but this one seems to be as much a publicity stunt that was a cool stage show but probably not run by the engineers before the promises were made regarding the SS, range, towing capacity, etc. There’s definitely some other tech beneath the surface though that’s less sexy to discuss but will likely be here to stay. 48 volt low-voltage system, steer-by-wire, etc.

If I were buying a lifestyle pickup, and let’s face it, 98% of personal pickups are exactly that, I’d be getting a Rivian.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by saab2000

If I were buying a lifestyle pickup, and let’s face it, 98% of personal pickups are exactly that, I’d be getting a Rivian.

Love to see some real sources supporting that. I mean more than 2% of pickups actually get used for work.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

Love to see some real sources supporting that. I mean more than 2% of pickups actually get used for work.

Of course it’s an exaggeration and I should acknowledge this. But I have neighbors and coworkers with Rams and F150s and Silverados, etc. and I almost never see them performing “work” with them. Of course, such vehicles exist. They’re at job sites and are clearly not your chrome finished trucks. They’re beasts of burden and show it. Steel wheels, tools in the bed, often well used and scraped up, etc. Work horses.

But have a look around at the number of pickups that are in pristine condition and don’t get worked more than an annual trip to a big box store for a few bags of mulch. Those are the ones I’m referencing and there are a lot of them.

[rice rocket]

Originally Posted by saab2000

this one seems to be as much a publicity stunt that was a cool stage show but probably not run by the engineers before the promises were made regarding the SS, range, towing capacity, etc. There’s definitely some other tech beneath the surface though that’s less sexy to discuss but will likely be here to stay. 48 volt low-voltage system, steer-by-wire, etc.

I went to school with a few senior engineers at SpaceX/Tesla, the stories that come out of there are wild.

All of Elon's ventures are 100% ego driven, and he tries to insert himself in the engineering process because he thinks he knows better. Read stories about how Tesla almost failed because he didn't believe cars couldn't be built with 100% robotics, or how all aluminum structures would not pass crash testing, or how much time was wasted on the Falcon doors.

Tesla isn't successful because of Elon, it's despite of Elon.

Agreed on the second part though, some of the tech underneath is neat. Model Y heat pump is also a good example.

[AngryScientist]

If I were king for a day...

I realize that in the US we have crash safety standards for a reason, but I really think they should be revisited and rejiggered.

I believe if we didnt have such prescriptive standards that manufacturers needed to adhere to, there would be a strong market for very small electric pickups and SUVs. It opens up more range, maneuverability, parking space, etc to have smaller vehicles on the road.

I feel like if Toyota made these exact trucks again with electric motors, and a super affordable price, they would sell like hotcakes and serve their owners very well.

[saab2000]

I think the Ford Maverick is your modern day version of this. It's smaller than it looks in the photo and appears to be quite a useful vehicle for very light truck duties. The hybrid version is quite efficient as well from what I understand. Too bad it doesn't appear to be available in a short cab, long bed version.