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

[Cyberman]

Cool. Do you know what hardness spec you ordered? I bet it cost quite a bit considering how tiny it is. I looked for small pieces but gave up.

That's all the info they gave. Ebay, like 15-20 bucks

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[HaulingAss]

That's all the info they gave. Ebay, like 15-20 bucks

All the 304 3mm stainless I see on eBay being listed as "cold rolled" also says its annealed. That removes any hardening the cold-rolling provided by heating the metal past it's re-crystallization temperature and slowly cooling it. The cold-rolling, in the case of annealed steel, is just part of the fabrication process, not a hardening technique. Hardened stainless is not very popular, especially in the harder grades, due to the difficulty of manufacturing anything out of it. Even something as simple as drilling holes becomes more difficult and expensive.

So I'm guessing the sample you have is not nearly as hard as whatever Cybertruck will be made from.

 

[fritter63]

Lemme backpedal here. I ordered a 5"x5"x3mm thick piece of cold rolled 304 SS plate off the web. I wish I could say I got it from the scrap pile behind Giga Texas, but no. I wanted to have a close representation of CT in my hand. I'm lovin' it!

Bet you could find some pieces around Boca Chica! Isn’t it open to public most of the time? ?

 

[Ogre]

Aluminum body 2016 F150 rollover accident.

The occupants lived. If you can walk away from the accident

All the 304 3mm stainless I see on eBay being listed as "cold rolled" also says its annealed. That removes any hardening the cold-rolling provided by heating the metal past it's re-crystallization temperature and slowly cooling it. The cold-rolling, in the case of annealed steel, is just part of the fabrication process, not a hardening technique. Hardened stainless is not very popular, especially in the harder grades, due to the difficulty of manufacturing anything out of it. Even something as simple as drilling holes becomes more difficult and expensive.

So I'm guessing the sample you have is not nearly as hard as whatever Cybertruck will be made from.

I hadn’t really thought about the problems drilling, you are spot on. There are going to be a lot of DIYers trying to build something out of the Cybertruck who will be very frustrated by it’s resilience.

One thing though. Doesn’t hardened metal become somewhat brittle? I know it wouldn’t snap in normal use, just thinking about behavior in an accident. If I hit a tree, is my truck going to have shatter zones instead of crumple zones?

EDIT: Maybe not explaining it well. I’m not suggesting it would be “weak” just trying to describe the failure mode. From what I’ve seen, hardened metal won’t bend into a crease, it gets to a point then snaps.

 

[Bill906]

The occupants lived. If you can walk away from the accident

I think what he was pointing out is that while walking away they would get cut from the torn aluminum. Then they would of course die of gangrene. So obviously being instantly crushed would have been better.

That's what I got from that video anyway...

 

[Crissa]

Bet you could find some pieces around Boca Chica! Isn’t it open to public most of the time? ?

Technically that's theft.

?

You're not allowed to take pieces of aircraft that you find on the ground.

-Crissa

 

[CyberGus]

The DeLorean stainless panels were stamped, but the steel was neither hardened nor 3mm. Nevertheless, it was more brittle than mild steel and frequently cracked.

For instance, the early VINs had a fuel-filler flap that was punched out of the hood:

Unfortunately, this caused many hoods to crack, so it was discontinued. I must open my frunk to fill up. (I frequently get "hey, why are you putting gas in your windshield-washer bottle")

The CT stainless is going to be strong AF. I can't wait to see the machines that will build it!

 

[HaulingAss]

The occupants lived. If you can walk away from the accident

I hadn’t really thought about the problems drilling, you are spot on. There are going to be a lot of DIYers trying to build something out of the Cybertruck who will be very frustrated by it’s resilience.

One thing though. Doesn’t hardened metal become somewhat brittle? I know it wouldn’t snap in normal use, just thinking about behavior in an accident. If I hit a tree, is my truck going to have shatter zones instead of crumple zones?

EDIT: Maybe not explaining it well. I’m not suggesting it would be “weak” just trying to describe the failure mode. From what I’ve seen, hardened metal won’t bend into a crease, it gets to a point then snaps.

I wouldn't exactly call it brittle, but, yes, the failure modes are different. I don't really care how it fails in an accident as long as it's safer for the occupants and the insurance is reasonably priced. That's all that matters to me.

 

[Ogre]

I wouldn't exactly call it brittle, but, yes, the failure modes are different. I don't really care how it fails in an accident as long as it's safer for the occupants and the insurance is reasonably priced. That's all that matters to me.

Totally agree, just kind of a curious difference.

The complaints about the aluminum tearing don’t bother me either. What might bother me about aluminum is if it bends easier if I drop a 2x4 on it, or if it is more expensive to repair in a fender bender. Obviously a 2x4 won’t bother the CT, but repair costs might be an issue with the Cybertruck as well. Though there will likely be fewer repairs in that case.

 

[HaulingAss]

Totally agree, just kind of a curious difference.

The complaints about the aluminum tearing don’t bother me either. What might bother me about aluminum is if it bends easier if I drop a 2x4 on it, or if it is more expensive to repair in a fender bender. Obviously a 2x4 won’t bother the CT, but repair costs might be an issue with the Cybertruck as well. Though there will likely be fewer repairs in that case.

From what I can gather, the aluminum F-150 beds are harder than the steel ones. Ford used a hard aluminum alloy while the mild steel ones are thin and dent really easily. I have the steel bed in my 2010 F-150 and the bed is the only part of the truck that shows appreciable wear. It is bent to hell all over with thousands of dents all combining together to basically form one sacked out bed. The raised ridges which are meant as stiffeners are all smooshed (highly technical term) from loading large rounds of fully saturated firewood. I.m sure some of the flattening was due to driving with those rounds stacked high.

Bed damage doesn't bother me much but I expect the Cybertruck bed to handle a lot more abuse without denting. And, of course, it will never rust.

 

[Ogre]

Just rumors, but I’ve heard Tesla was shopping for a composite (aka plastic) truck bed. Might not be stainless like the alpha truck. Essentially it would be something like what the Honda Ridgeline has right not.

Personally, I’m ok with that so long as it’s as durable as a spray on bed liner is.

 

[Crissa]

We had a thread on the crumpling properties of the stainless used in the Cybertruck quite awhile ago, when the Starship crashed in the hanger.

https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/so-you-think-cybertruck-cant-crumple.2137/

-Crissa

 

[Cyberman]

I'm most afraid there'll be a rash of innocent peoples' keys getting Cybertrucked in unattended parking lots. So sad.
D'ya think they'll be able to buff out the damage to the key?!?!?!

 

[LDRHAWKE]

I'm most afraid there'll be a rash of innocent peoples' keys getting Cybertrucked in unattended parking lots. So sad.
D'ya think they'll be able to buff out the damage to the key?!?!?!

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