Are Brand-New Tesla Cybertrucks Rusting in the Rain?
That’s the buzz. The reality might be a little more complicated.
Alex KiersteinWriter
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Feb 14, 2024
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You've seen the headlines. They make it seem like
brand-new Tesla Cybertrucks, exposed to a bit of rain, are turning into rust sculptures. But the Cybertruck's body is supposed to be made out of stainless steel, resistant to corrosion! It's the sort of twist that makes for a compelling schadenfreude read. And yet, the culprit may not be suspect Tesla steel at all. Instead, maybe we can blame trains.
But first, an important reminder: Stainless steel is extremely resistant to corrosion, but it is not corrosion-proof. Stainless steel is an alloy (of which there are many specific variations with different properties) but all contain a proportion of chromium. Stainless steel forms a very, very thin layer of oxidation, but the chromium (and other constituents) prevent further corrosion. At least, under normal circumstances.
Expose stainless steel to various conditions—strong chemicals, like bleach, or salt exposure—and even stainless steel can pit and rust.
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Is that what's going on with the Cybertrucks?
Business Insider, pointing to a thread
on the Cybertruck Owner's Club forums, claimed that corrosion is forming on the exterior of various Cybertruck owners' vehicles after exposure to rain. Pictures in the thread show Cybertruck panels with small spots of discoloration. But stainless steel should be resistant to normal rain. Presuming the owners photos and accounts are all accurate, it seems like there might be something else going on.
The other theory is raised quickly in the thread and doesn't seem to be gaining much traction in these reports: rail dust. These tiny iron particles can be kicked up by train wheels running on their tracks, or by other sources of metal abrasion. They settle on surfaces and can themselves rust in certain conditions. The fact that owners claim to have easily removed the rusty specs with clay bars and the like lends credence to the theory. Real corrosion in stainless steel, like pitting, would severely affect the panel.
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Without examining the trucks in person, it's difficult to form a bulletproof (no pun intended) conclusion about the Cybertruck rust rumors—is it damaged stainless panels, pitting, or rail dust?—but rail dust seems like the simpler and more likely explanation.
We do want to note that stainless steel, especially without a protective coating, can be a difficult material to keep looking nice. Bodywork is difficult and expensive, grease and scratches can be difficult to remove, and so forth.
Tesla's own (as of yet unreleased publicly) manual advises owners to immediately remove potentially corrosive substances like road salt or
industrial fallout—our emphasis added, because rail dust is certainly akin to industrial fallout—immediately.
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Case closed? Probably. Tesla Cybertrucks aren't rusting in the sort of catastrophic manner these reports may have you envisioning, like unrustproofed 1970s Italian coach built cars or the like, but it does go to show that maintaining the Cybertruck's unconventional bare stainless steel surface is going to require some additional care, like any special surface—
including matte paint.
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