3mm stainless steel - wow

[TBONO]

Exoskeleton strength requirement!

Maybe, but debatable

Sponsored

 

[TBONO]

For protection from large hail damage (common in U.S. states of Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, and country Mexico), it would be very useful for the hood and front fender to be 3mm cold-rolled stainless steel too.

I would much prefer a roof of 3mm cold-rolled stainless steel instead of even armor glass roof.

Fair point on the hail, however, that applies to a very small percentage of the population

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

You mean from 2019 which was four years ago? I don’t recall anywhere along the way where they have said the skin will continue to be 3 mm. And a lot of other things along the way have changed so it’s fair game for anything to be in question unless formally announced or in this case reannounced since it’s been four years.

Also, 3mm may be an overkill for the entire vehicle. This is roughly, the same thickness of an aircraft skin. Is the extra weight throughout the cybertruck worth it? Performance vehicles go with lighter weight hood, tops, and various panels where the extra thickness/weight is not needed. Why would cybertruck be any different?

If you haven’t paid attention since November 2019 then yes, I am. I do agree with you that, from a legacy OEM’s point of view at least, saving weight and money would be the way to go. But the Cybertruck was always intended to be ‘over the top’, with a bulletproof skin, armored glass, biodefense mode, etc. which of these would the legacy OEMs not shed because they are unnecessary and costly? Let me see, all of them.

The reality is that Tesla has been talking about features, and about the stainless steel, all along. Tesla has publicly announced changes that related to the unveiling: dimensions, the addition of a 4th motor, addition of 4WS. On the other hand, Franz talked about the difficulty of working with thick, ultra hard, stainless steel just a couple months ago.

Anyway, you and I look at this whole thing differently, and I can accept that. I can also accept my reasoning being wrong. I just haven’t seen or heard any evidence of this change, but we will certainly know in a couple of months.

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

Fair point on the hail, however, that applies to a very small percentage of the population

Really? I have seen some pretty significant hail in both Southern and Northern California and most people believe/say that California is really mild. I am not sure what qualifies as a small percentage but if I am driving my Cybertruck in some state that has ever had golf ball-sized hail (or larger) I would pay extra to have the entire outer shell hardened against it.

 

[WHIZZARD OF OZ]

Maybe, but debatable

I can debate the numbers on this subject if you like! Was good at 'Maths' so, teacher asked that l taught alongside her in Class, in second year High! ( Don't go putting 'debatable' and 'Maths' together )

 

[charliemagpie]

Hypothetical
If Tesla built the Cybertruck using a design akin to say the lightning, assuming weight savings, how much extra range would the 500-mile variant gain?

Given what Tesla has done with the Semi, I would imagine the CT to follow suit.

 

[firsttruck]

Fair point on the hail, however, that applies to a very small percentage of the population

Really? I have seen some pretty significant hail in both Southern and Northern California and most people believe/say that California is really mild. I am not sure what qualifies as a small percentage but if I am driving my Cybertruck in some state that has ever had golf ball-sized hail (or larger) I would pay extra to have the entire outer shell hardened against it.

Yup, many of the states (Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arkansas) are parts of major east-west interstate highway corridors where huge number of non-residents travel through.

Suffering damage to your vehicle while on vacation or business trip can be even more expensive ( time & money) than if you were a local resident.

Hail storms can happen in most of 48 states in U.S. (from Maine to California, Washington State to Florida).

Some places in U.S. severe hail storms can happen several times a year but relatively few places in U.S. are total safe from hailstorms.

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University of Nebraska–Lincoln - Does hail happen everywhere? Yes
Hail can occur anywhere in the world; however, the topography and geography of the United States favor the development of tornadoes and strong hail-producing thunderstorms.
https://cropwatch.unl.edu/hail-know/hail-storm-0

One of the costliest hailstorm in US history:
8 May 2017 - Denver, Colorado, USA
Baseball-sized stones pummeled the west Denver Metro area, resulting in extensive damage to homes, windows, vehicles (many of which were in the late day commute), and roofs. The storm would surpass the state's costliest wildfires, force the closure of the Colorodo Mills Mall until the end of 2017, and caused $2.3 billion in damage.
Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association says more than 150,000 auto claims have been filed. Of those damaged cars, nearly half of the vehicles are not drivable.

Severe Hail Days per Year

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Insurance Losses from Hail Damage on the Rise
October 11, 2019
https://www.fenderbender.com/articles/13777-insurance-losses-from-hail-damage-on-the-rise

Susanna Gotsch, industry analyst and director of the CCC Intelligent Solutions, reported about the growing danger of hailstorms for the automotive industry. Three of the $4 billion events for the insurance industry in the first half of 2019 occurred in the U.S. and were all weather-related. The events included powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes, large hail, high winds and flooding.

Both hail and tornado activity have increased across the country, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

*** The CCC found that, nationally among overall annual appraisal counts, there has been an uptick in the percent with primary point of impact of “hail”. ***

The average cost of vehicle repairs for hail losses is 33 percent to more than 100 percent higher than other repairs, the CCC reported. It also takes a significantly longer period of time from the date of the loss to the date the customer reports the loss, and a longer time to repair the vehicle.

With a higher repair percent of total labor amount and a higher share of overall repair cost, repair times may be longer due to more labor hours per claim, as well as delays due to scheduling in third party paint-less dent repair. States with a higher propensity to see hail losses also see repair volumes spike from a single large event, and the spikes in volume often result in a significant swing in certain key performance metrics.

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Baseball-Size Hail Damages Cars in Queens and on Long Island, New York
August 1, 2011
The New York Times
By Adriane Quinlan
https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroo...-hail-damages-cars-in-queens-and-long-island/

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VERY Large Hail & Vehicle Damage Near
LOTS of cars sustained damage.
Supercell thunderstorms formed over the Hudson Valley of NY State.
Several tornadoes to New York and Connecticut.
One of those supercells dropped golf ball to tennis ball size hail on unsuspecting motorists along the Taconic State Parkway just east of the town of Saugerties, NY.
May 16, 2018
Extreme Weather Photography
©2018 Scott McPartland / Dave Lewison
Saugerties, NY 5.15.2018 Scott McPartland - Not For Media Use Without A Valid License

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Butler County Auto Shop Inundated With Calls After Hail Damages Vehicles
Phones are ringing off the hook at a local auto body shop after a hail storm caused damage to many people's vehicles, reports KDKA's Meghan Schiller.
May 29, 2019
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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Hail damages more than 1,000 vehicles at Marc Motors in Sanford, Maine
Published: July 14, 2020
https://www.newscentermaine.com/vid...nford/97-5cb62c47-c6c3-4a3b-b30e-c11ec8a6ef29

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November 27, 2022 - California, PA, USA - Hailstorm
Hail up to golf ball size fell, damaging hundreds of cars in the town and at the PennWest California Campus, including mine and many homes.
For licensing requests, please email [email protected]
Nick Wilkes

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Georgia, USA - Hail Damage To Cars Keeping Body Shops Busy
Auto body repair shops in northern suburbs of metro Atlanta are busy repairing hundreds of cars, trucks and SUVs damaged by the intense storms that swept across Georgia on Friday night.
"The hail was ridiculous. It took out a lot of cars," said repair shop manager Dano Booth.
April 18, 201
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/hail-damage-to-cars-keeping-body-shops-busy/241838211/


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Hail damage hits Richmond homes, cars, and businesses
Richmond suffered a lot of hail damage to cars, ...
Jun 26, 2023
Richmond, Kentucky, USA

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A Big Hailstorm in ... Seattle ( Washington, USA )
Hailstorms happen a few times in Seattle each year, but some of the scenes from Monday's hailstorm would've been impressive in Texas or Oklahoma, let alone Seattle.
31 Mar 2020
https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/a-big-hailstorm-in-seattle

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Hailstorm cuts a wide swath across Inland Northwest, left significant damage in its wake.
Hail the size of golf balls and eggs pounded parts of the Inland Northwest on Thursday, pockmarking cars and shattering windows. Liberty Lake, Otis Orchards and State Line were among the hardest-hit areas by Thursday’s storms, with 2-inch or egg-sized hail recorded. But heavy damage also was reported in Rockford and Cottonwood, Idaho.
The Liberty Lake State Farm Insurance claims department expects over 1,000 auto claims and about 750 home claims.
Updated Aug. 12, 2022
By Molly Wisor, Mathew Callaghan
The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington, USA)
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/aug/12/significant-damage-left-in-aftermath-of-localized-/


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Mexican hailstorm buries Guadalajara in 4 feet of ice
July 1, 2019
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/world/guadalajara-digs-out-from-more-than-4-feet-of-hail/

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Record Hailstorms and Hailstones in the U.S.
By Christopher C. Burt · April 27, 2018
https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/record-hailstorms-and-hailstones-us

.....
Costliest hailstorms There have been a handful of hailstorms that resulted in $1 billion or more in damages in the U.S.
The costliest storm appears to be that of April 10, 2001, which cut a swath along the I-70 corridor from eastern Kansas to southwestern Illinois and pounded the St. Louis area.
Property damage was in excess of $2.5 billion in 2018 dollars.

Craig Mann of Cullman, Alabama, displays the hailstone he collected in nearby Walter, Alabama on March 19, 2018, that measured over 5” in diameter (officially 5.38”), thus entering the record books as the largest hailstone ever collected in Alabama history. Image courtesy of Craig Mann.

.....
Heavy rainfall during or following a hailstorm can cause hail accumulations to wash into ditches, creek beds, or other low-lying areas resulting in enormous piles of hail often several feet deep.
This was the case during a storm south of Clayton, New Mexico on August 13, 2004 when a 12” hail accumulation was swept into a draw by 5” of rainfall. A culvert in the draw became clogged by the flow and the hail piled up to an astonishing 15 feet deep behind it!

.....
Some notes on large hail around the world

* Europe
In Europe a hailstone weighing 2.14 pounds was reported following a storm in Strasbourg, France, on August 11, 1958. The diameter was not noted.

Europe’s most catastrophic hailstorm in modern history was that which struck Munich, Germany on July 12, 1984. Some 70,000 homes and 200,000 automobiles (and 150 aircraft!) were damaged and 400 people injured by hail the size of baseballs. Property damage was estimated at over US $2 billion.

* Bangladesh and India
The heaviest authenticated event ever occurred on April 14, 1986 in the Gopalanj district of Bangladesh. Some hailstones measured weighing 2.25 pounds. The stone’s size was not measured, although anecdotal reports claimed the stones were the size of “pumpkins”. Ninety-two people perished as a result of the storm, though how many of these can be attributed to the hail is uncertain.

A hailstorm in the Moradabad and Beheri districts of India killed 246 people on April 30, 1888. A 2017 paper in the journal Weather, Climate, and Society notes that this is the highest hailstorm-related mortality accepted by the World Meteorological Organization.


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Does New Mexico get hail storms? Yes
Hail with flash flooding becomes a threat for central and western New Mexico from June through September. Hail can cause extensive damage to vegetation, vehicles, homes, and other property.
NM Hazards - National Weather Service
https://www.weather.gov/abq/prephazards


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Some severe hail events in U.S. & Canada that happened outside hail alley states.

2 September 1960 Southern California, USA
5 October 2010 Phoenix, Arizona, USA
18 May 2000 Chicago area, Illinois, USA
10 April 2001 St. Louis, Missouri, USA
28 April 2012 St. Louis, Missouri, USA
9 June 2017 Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

7 September 1991 Calgary, Alberta, Canada
24 July 1996 Calgary, Alberta, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
11 July 2004 Edmonton, Alberta Canada
12 July 2010 Calgary, Alberta, Canada
12 August 2012 Calgary, Alberta, Canada
13 June 2020 Calgary, Alberta, Canada

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_costly_or_deadly_hailstorms

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In USA, how common is hail damage?
There were 5,382 major hail storms in 2019, according to statistics
culled from NOAA's Severe Storms database. In 2018, 4.610 major
hailstorms occurred.

-------------------

In USA, between 2016 and 2018 there were 898,500 personal auto
insurance claims due to hail damage. These events often 'write off'
vehicles and costs billions each year to consumers/insurance.

Top 5 States for Hail Claims
Texas Continues to Take the Top Spot for Hail Claims
DES PLAINES, Ill., Aug. 6, 2019
https://www.nicb.org/news/news-releases/top-5-states-hail-claims


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Weather Whys: Killer Hail Storms
Apr 28, 2016
https://theeagle.com/townnews/meteo...cle_8471195c-0d72-11e6-a303-eb6b79c7de87.html

.....
Q: How large do hailstones get?

A: Hail is usually pea-sized to marble-sized, says Orville, but big thunderstorms can produce big hail. "Hail up to six inches in diameter has fallen in parts of the Midwest," he says. "A hailstone the size of a baseball weighs about one-third of a pound, and since it can travel up to 90 miles an hour from its source cloud, it can create a lot of damage. Entire crops have been known to be wiped out in a few minutes with large hailstones. In 1978, about 200 sheep were killed in Montana when baseball-size hail struck them. The largest hailstone ever recorded in the U.S. occurred in 1970 in Coffeyville, Kan., when a stone weighing 1.6 pounds and measuring 5.5 inches fell, but we know that larger stones have fallen around the world. In 1984, a hail storm hit Denver and lasted almost one hour and the result was knee-deep hailstones on the ground. This is why hail can be such a damaging weather force."

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Long Repair Wait For Cars Damaged In Record-Breaking Hail Storm of May 8, 2017
May 23, 2017
CBS Colorado (metro Denver, Colorado, USA)
https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/hail-storm-insurance-damages/

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[Baldey]

Jesus! I live right on the edge of the rockies in Denver, and hail has always been a scary thing for us. Luckaly ive managed to avoid it all my life, but i dono how much longer my luck will last! Had room mates with significant damage One of the main reasons i still check the weather every morning, so i know where to be if thunderstorms are expected.. There have been soooo many this year!

But anyway, i hope the hood is thick stainless so i can let my friend's kids and my friends climb all over it..

 

[TBONO]

Some people here are really wanting the 3 mm stainless steel. I’m not saying that one way is better than the other
If 3 mm all around it is that’s great, I was just more putting it out there that is it really necessary and are the trade-offs worth it where it may be 1.5 mm would be more than adequate on parts of the vehicle?
I think / agreed the hailstorm is a good argument, so I didn’t read all the AI and cut and paste provide here -

 

[Trbizwiz]

Exoskeleton strength requirement!

I think at the delivery event, that terminology will change to Exoskeleton rated cladding. Or some similar terminology. Munro tells us the vehicle can drive unclad, with the unibody chassis only. But the cladding will give Cybertruck super strength. I will interested to see how the cladding attaches. It appears there are slots cut into the panels, that sort of hook it on, I assume adhesive will play a role as well.

 

[Mini2nut]

A virtually dent and corrosion proof pickup truck. It‘s been my dream truck for many, many years. I never thought I would see such a durable vehicle go into mass production and then out of left field Tesla announces the stainless steel Cybertruck in late 2019. I was glued to my laptop screen and blown away by what I was seeing.

No other auto manufacturer would have the balls to build such a polarizing vehicle but Mr. Musk decided to throw the dice and leadership agreed.

No more worries when parking your car in a tight space and A-holes slamming their door open against yours. No more stressing out when a bad hail storm brews up out of nowhere. No more worries over faded paint, peeling clear coat, paint touch up bottles for stone chips, waxing, polishing, exterior corrosion, etc.

Many people think the styling is fugly and polarizing. To my eyes the truck is a work of art and is beautiful to look at. The tough SS exterior ensures that the truck can be passed down through multiple generations. I predict the truck is going to be a disruptor in the pickup truck segment.

Cybertruck. Designed by aliens, piloted by earthlings.

 

[PilotPete]

Also, 3mm may be an overkill for the entire vehicle. This is roughly, the same thickness of an aircraft skin.

Ahhh, No it's not. Nope, not even.

 

[CyberGus]

I believe two quarters stacked together is 3mm

According to the US Mint, a penny is 1.52mm while a quarter is 1.75mm, so the double-stacked penny is actually closer to 3mm.

 

[fritter63]

Jesus! I live right on the edge of the rockies in Denver, and hail has always been a scary thing for us.

It was literally the main reason we left Denver (after 19 years). It just gets exhausting worrying about it.

As for the 3mm thickness, here's my CyberTruck that I picked up at the Tesla Takeover yesterday.

3mm SS. It is REALLY thick, and also quite heavy just for that bottle opener.

At this point, I'm wondering how the CT COULD be 3mm thick all over and not weigh 10K lbs......

 

[fritter63]

Yup, two quarters almost exactly!

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