Elon Musk has demonstrated that the Cybertruck’s stainless steel exterior is bulletproof, but new owners of the EV found it may not be weatherproof.
Several customers who recently purchased the $79,900 vehicle reported rust littering the outer shell after driving it for ‘two days in the rain.’
One owner named Will shared his experience on a Cybertruck forum, stating he purchased his Tesla truck on February 1 and noticed corrosion forming on the metal after 11 days of use – putting just 381 miles on it.
The Cybertruck was taken to a facility, but staff told him they did not have the proper tools to repair the exterior and that it would take about one month to receive them.
Musk mentioned last year that owners will soon have the option of purchasing a tungsten carbide coating that helps protect against corrosion – but for an added unknown cost.
One owner named Will shared his experience on a Cybertruck forum, stating he purchased his Tesla truck on February 1 and noticed corrosion forming on the metal after 11 days of use – putting just 381 miles on it
Will shared images online of his new Cybertruck, revealing small markings on the exterior that persisted even after a wash.
‘The Cybertruck has 381 miles on it, and has spent much of the 11 days in my custody parked in front of my house,’ he shared on Cybertruck Owners Club.
‘Cold weather, rain, and some direct sunlight later, I attached a few photos of the corrosion spots and a video.
‘Seems like it’s much more prominent on the top metal that rises above the truck bed more so than anywhere else, but the spots are definitely everywhere in the metal.’
Will noted that the issues arose after driving in the rain, while another owner who posted on the same forum experienced the problem ‘after short periods of exposure to condensation.’
The other user, named Raxar, said they had also picked up their Cybertruck on February 1 and were told by an advisor that the vehicle ‘develops orange rust marks in the rain and that required the vehicle to be buffed out.’
Will shared images online of his new Cybertruck, revealing small markings on the exterior that persisted even after a wash
The other user, named Raxar, said they had also picked up their Cybertruck on February 1 and were told by an advisor that the vehicle ‘develops orange rust marks in the rain and that required the vehicle to be buffed out’
‘I know I heard the story of never taking out your Delorean in the rain but I just never read anything about rust and Cybertrucks,’ they shared.
One comment below the post reads: ‘If it ‘rusts’, it’s not stainless steel.’
However, stainless steel is rust-resistant, but not immune to corrosion.
According to Mead Metals, stainless steel will ‘rust from exposure to damaging chemicals, saline, grease, or prolonged exposure to heat.’
However, the owners who shared images of their corroded Cybertrucks claimed to have exposed them to the elements for just several days.
‘The simplest condition under which rusting can occur on stainless steel is when a piece of ordinary carbon or low-ally steel is rubbed against the surface of an otherwise corrosion-resistant piece of stainless steel,’ a Sperko Engineering Services report explained.
‘The iron from the ordinary steel will rub off onto the stainless steel surface as a film of unalloyed steel, and, after exposure to moisture in the atmosphere for a few days, that unalloyed steel film will form ugly rust.’
Musk mentioned last year that owners have the option of a tungsten carbide coating that helps protect against corrosion – but for an added unknown cost
But stainless steel should not rust in normal rain – and theories have emerged online about what could cause the discoloration on several Cybertrucks.
One user posted in the forum suggesting the rust specks are fallout from the environment or could be rail dust that occurred during shipping.
When cars are transported by train from the factory, the metal wheels of the train cars running on metal rails create small particles of metal that fly into the air and land on the horizontal surfaces of the car.
The user, who goes by Daryoon, said they used a clay bar on their Cybertruck and removed the specks of iron – ‘all rust traces [were] gone.’
‘[For] some of the other spots I found, I used a car polish and it cleaned up the rust spot but didn’t remove the warm hue that is the patina of the stainless steel,’ they posted.
Others pointed out that the specks could not be rusted because they are black, while iron oxide is a reddish brown.
