Who approved plastic trim @ Tesla?

[CTCotopaxi]

Seriously who looked at and approved the plastic trim pieces from the supplier…fenders, rockers, sail panels, and tailgate cover and said yeah that will work ??‍ You breathe on it and it scratches way too soft !!??‍?

Sponsored

 

[CTnoir]

My tailgate trim was scratched from day I picked it up and getting worse, I’m on my second set of sail pieces and 2 interior pieces been replaced

 

[Art138]

That tailgate cover is very fragile ; I will look for an aftermarket protector when they are available.

 

[Pops]

Stainless steel covers for my bumper help.

 

[MyFirstElectricTesla]

I did ...

 

[Stinky10r]

(Hauling Ass), "My plastic has never scratched. I've never had an issue. I've driven my truck through brush in my log cabin for hours and I've never had even a scratch. This is blasphemy. "

 

[XCeilidhX]

i would agree the plastic trim on the exterior looks to be pretty chintzy. Don’t have my CT yet but would have preferred options for those pieces to also be stainless, or carbon fiber, or some fancy heavy gauge rubber compound or advanced Mars-proof polymer i’ve never heard of in my life.

From what i’ve seen the plastic trim looks about the same as on the Kia Sportage I traded in for my Model S nearly 12 years ago now. Given that the price points are so different and the other tech in the CT is unrivaled, this makes this amazing machine seem cheaper than it is which is a shame. Cost cutting during manufacturing of a product for profitability is an unfortunate and growing pressure on companies especially with so much planned obsolescence baked-in to product development cycles these days but for $80k-$120k I would say that was poor decision-making from at least an advertising perspective but i would argue that durability and public perception and fodder for derision are other issues this plastic trim choice invites.

Bottom line: it was the wrong corner to cut IMHO so I totally agree OP.

Cheers

 

[Nice2CTu]

Stainless steel covers for my bumper help.

Link?

These look nice, any complaints?

 

[sozucom]

Ya. I covered the bumper with the same stainless steel plates. The top of my tailgate and side of the tonneau covers are all scratched up so I covered those with a sticker product that I like the rough textured look of.

TOProtect Cargo Bed Pickup Bed Surround Trim Vinyl Fascia Overlay Protection Armor Kit for Tesla Cybertruck - Bed Liner Spray Look, Durable Protection
https://a.co/d/dp86MzS

 

[Pops]

@Nice2CTu

Here is the bumper cover. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D66K1PJH/

I love them, no issues and they do not scratch easy.

 

[agordon117]

You know, there's a couple of ways to look at this. Before the usual suspects come in and tell you that your truck is supposed to look like shit and obviously this is the only material they could have ever picked...

The obvious thing they could have done is make the trim from metal. Except that would probably add 5k per truck. So then they'd be forced to pick between bogging down the production line with an extra option, or just making all of the trucks more expensive



However, I do also have a 2021 jeep wrangler. And it has similar matte black plastic trim on it. In 3000 miles, the trim on the truck looked worse than the trim on the jeep does after 10,000 miles. And the jeep tires throw way more rocks than the truck tires do. And the fenders on the jeep are a much bigger target than the ones on the truck.

The trim on the truck is much softer than the trim on the jeep, and I agree that's a pretty big deficiency in the design.

I also get these weird stains where water pools on it after a wash. Not from BKF, I don't ever allow that to drip down. But even spotless water will leave spots where water drips onto the front and rear bumpers after a wash. And they don't even come off the next wash. It takes a while for them to wear down. I guess it could be that it isnt' the wash that causes it, but road spray after it rains drips and dries there, and I just happen to notice it during a wash. But either way, I have no such magical stains that won't come out in the matte black trim on the jeep. *shrugs*

 

[BeFamousVideo]

Ya. I covered the bumper with the same stainless steel plates. The top of my tailgate and side of the tonneau covers are all scratched up so I covered those with a sticker product that I like the rough textured look of.

TOProtect Cargo Bed Pickup Bed Surround Trim Vinyl Fascia Overlay Protection Armor Kit for Tesla Cybertruck - Bed Liner Spray Look, Durable Protection
https://a.co/d/dp86MzS

Wow, Vivid has many parts to cover plastic on CT. I didn't see the fender covers though. The coverage from Vivid is better on the side edges of the bumpers than other products I've seen which only cover the top of the bumper.

 

[Crissa]

The point of the plastic is to wear without damaging other things that bumps into it.

No different than how tires wear over time.

-Crissa

 

[agordon117]

The point of the plastic is to wear without damaging other things that bumps into it.

No different than how tires wear over time.

-Crissa

Of all of the weird takes about how the plastic is supposed to be damaged super easily, this was not how I thought anyone would spin it, LOL

 

[Jack27]

Some of those things are true but some of them are standard on many trucks and cars, 99% of trucks have a plastic tailgate lip and I really do hate it my self and been looking for something g to help that as I load allot of stuff over the lip. But most of it is just a vinyl that will also get scratched and now I would have a sticky scratch !
the thing I don’t like is the bumpers ! Def wish they were metal. The fenders will surly fade just like jeeps do .

Sponsored