This may be Cybertruck's 2B stainless steel. Updated Scratch and Sniff* test.

[HaulingAss]

So tell me why if you are Tesla would you make the inner portions of the exoskeleton that no one sees out of stainless that costs more than double typically. They probably aren’t welding those exterior panels on and my guess is they will use a structural adhesive that would take care of galvanic corrosion. Why make the stamped interior pieces out of stainless if no one sees them. I really doubt they will do that.

Because if they used regular sheet steel, they would need to paint it. And there is not going to be a whole lot of material in the inner layer of the exoskeleton since it can be thinner and doesn't need complete coverage for aero reasons like the outer layer does, just some added structure to accommodate door openings and the like. The entire idea behind the Cybertruck is that it uses a lot of premium materials but they can keep the costs down because it will require less capital expense due to needing far fewer robots, no paint shop, no drying time, no paint correction/repair and much less labor and factory area. The cost of the factory and robots has to be priced into the cost of each vehicle produced. By spending less money on all of those things they can use more premium materials that resist corrosion better which is what the customer really wants.

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[HaulingAss]

I read it and many of the additional link. Two things are clarified by Munro. The Cybertruck cannot be called a true unibody because they are using the large castings combined with the structural battery pack to create somewhat of a frame for the body to sit on.

Well, I'm not going to quibble over what amounts to terminology but I think Sandy is splitting hairs where none need to be split. And I'll leave it at that.

Sandy does seem to assume that the entire body will be stainless and I flat out disagree. Musk never said the entire body would be and he stressed the exoskeleton stressed skin goal to lighten the truck. The image of the body will be comprised of a lot of pieces adhered together. Nowhere does anything say that the body will be one homogenous piece. Yes it will become one structure with many pieces combined and nowhere does it say that all those pieces will be stainless. Just the 3mm exoskeleton. They will not waste the money to make stamped stainless pieces for the rest of the body. It’s unnecessary and they won’t do it.

I agree with Sandy here, exoskelton will all be stainless, aluminum and glass) but I think all would agree that nothing is cast in stone until it's released and, even then, Tesla will constantly tweak the design to make it better.

 

[Crissa]

The idea that it can't be a unibody because there is a big casting welded into the unibody is the most bizarre special pleading I have ever heard.

Yes, they may use cheaper steel in places. But for the most part, you don't want to do that, because it raises the price because having different materials together causes galvanization and ion transfer - so like, stainless isn't stainless if you let non-stainless rub against it.

A unibody is how the parts are all together into one structure that the strength flows through. It doesn't say anything about how you made the parts - stamped, rolled, cast, etc - nor does it say how you put the pieces together - bolted, welded, glued. It just says that they need to be put together so they are all part of the superstructure and move together as one. The exoskeleton definitely does that.

And lastly, this idea that the exoskeleton and body are separate is... Weird at best. It's not an exoskeleton if the body is separate! And the idea that an exoskeleton won't have parts for the motors to bolt onto or crumple zones or things to hold the bed is... Weird? Like, it's not a truck I want to have if it doesn't have a motor.

-Crissa

 

[rr6013]

It doesn't say anything about how you made the parts - stamped, rolled, cast, etc - nor does it say how you put the pieces together - bolted, welded, glued.

Rabbit-hole averted!

 

[CyberGus]

nothing is cast in stone

I see what you did there

 

[Ogre]

I’m kind of curious how Tesla is going to deal with all these massive chunks of stainless scrap metal? Melt it down and recast it?

One of the things I loved about the BMW i3 production line is they had a huge focus on production very little waste product. Not just eliminating trash, but minimizing material to be recycled and reclaimed as well.

So what do they do with the scrap?

Put it into the quad?

Other parts of the truck (the way they did with the i3)?

Art projects?

Use the cutouts to make the Model 2?

 

[Throwcomputer]

I’m kind of curious how Tesla is going to deal with all these massive chunks of stainless scrap metal? Melt it down and recast it?

One of the things I loved about the BMW i3 production line is they had a huge focus on production very little waste product. Not just eliminating trash, but minimizing material to be recycled and reclaimed as well.

So what do they do with the scrap?

Put it into the quad?

Other parts of the truck (the way they did with the i3)?

Art projects?

Use the cutouts to make the Model 2?

I've been wondering this same thing about the many casting tests we've seen piling up over the past few months which are then unceremoniously thrown in the back of a trailer and hauled off to who knows where. Seems like they should have a discard oven to recycle back into the giga presses. Then again, I've also been wondering if there is possibly a weakening of the aluminum mix if remelted and recycled in that way?

 

[Ogre]

I've been wondering this same thing about the many casting tests we've seen piling up over the past few months which are then unceremoniously thrown in the back of a trailer and hauled off to who knows where. Seems like they should have a discard oven to recycle back into the giga presses. Then again, I've also been wondering if there is possibly a weakening of the aluminum mix if remelted and recycled in that way?

I believe there is an onsite shredder/ chipper thing in the plans. Likely it’s just not been installed yet in Texas. The material is certainly recyclable. It is a special alloy so it’s possible that once it’s cast it needs some additional processing before it can be cast again?

 

[fritter63]

Am I the only one that works with metric in the shop???? Makes the math much simpler....

 

[Throwcomputer]

Am I the only one that works with metric in the shop???? Makes the math much simpler....

Agreed. Given everything I work on in my shop is an Italian vespa, my tools are all metric.

 

[Bill906]

Am I the only one that works with metric in the shop???? Makes the math much simpler....

How is 3 9/32 mm simpler than 0.13 inches?

 

[CyberGus]

Real men use fractions

 

[HaulingAss]

I’m kind of curious how Tesla is going to deal with all these massive chunks of stainless scrap metal? Melt it down and recast it?

One of the things I loved about the BMW i3 production line is they had a huge focus on production very little waste product. Not just eliminating trash, but minimizing material to be recycled and reclaimed as well.

So what do they do with the scrap?

Put it into the quad?

Other parts of the truck (the way they did with the i3)?

Art projects?

Use the cutouts to make the Model 2?

Isn't it obvious they will lay out the components to minimize scrap as much as possible? Whatever scrap there is they will send to the recyclers (probably using a Tesla semi) to be turned into new products. Even ICE manufacturers recycle as much as possible because it reduces costs.

 

[CyberGus]

Isn't it obvious they will lay out the components to minimize scrap as much as possible? Whatever scrap there is they will send to the recyclers (probably using a Tesla semi) to be turned into new products. Even ICE manufacturers recycle as much as possible because it reduces costs.

Minimizing scrap is the most efficient method, but all metals can be sold for scrap value.

Austin periodically has a residential “Bulk Pickup” that lets us put most anything on the curb to be discarded. As soon as people start piling up their junk, we see scrappers trolling for metal pieces to scoop up. You gotta be careful not to leave your mower in the front yard unattended

So maybe Tesla just needs to dump all the scrap at the curb lol

 

[Cyberman]

Real men use fractions

That's what the English said -and then they switched to metric.

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