A new experiment finds that fears regarding the Cybertruck’s stainless steel exterior getting dangerously hot in the sun are unfounded. In contrast, the experiment shows that the Cybertruck’s reflective surface makes it the coolest Tesla surface finish.
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The Tesla Cybertruck is the first vehicle to feature an unpainted stainless steel exoskeleton. The Cybertruck shares some similarities with the low-production-run DeLorean DMC-12; however, besides the DeLorean, the Cybertruck is in a league of its own when it comes to mass-market vehicles.
This uniqueness has earned the Cybertruck a lot of praise and attention; however, being such an unconventional vehicle also means dealing with brand-new questions not raised about other vehicles.
One good example of such new questions recently happened due to Cybertruck premature rusting concerns. People were noticing several rust spots on their brand-new trucks, and Tesla had to clarify that the Cybertrucks were not rusting but that the culprit was “iron-containing debris from the environment.”
Questions have also been raised about the safety of some of the Cybertruck’s hard-edged surfaces, which are made of ultra-strong stainless steel.
While Tesla is answering these questions, other unusual questions have also been raised about the Cybertruck.
These questions involve the Cybertruck’s stainless steel exterior and fears that the unpainted stainless steel exterior gets dangerously hot in the sun.
You would be forgiven for thinking these concerns had merit simply by looking at a Cybertruck in the sun.
More than any other vehicle on the road, the Cybertruck appears shiny and reflective, and you know instinctually that metals can store more heat energy than most other materials.
So the question is, does the Cybertruck’s stainless steel exterior get dangerously hot in the sun? Luckily, one Cybertruck Owners’ Club form member has answered this question scientifically.
Not only that, the forum member who goes by the handle Stuck4ger has compared the surface temperature of the Cybertruck against other Teslas in similar conditions.
Describing his experiment, Stuck4ger writes, “There’s been some discussion over the years about how hot the Cybertruck would be, both inside and out. Well, the Merritt Isle. SC has another customer, Cybertruck, in the parking lot, and I noticed that the sun’s reflection from the CT felt quite hot on my face. I then hesitantly put my hand on the hood, and it was damn hot.”
For most people, this is where they would stop; however, Stuck4ger followed up his curiosity by placing his hands on a black Model S parked next to the Cybertruck and subjectively was able to determine the black Model S’s surface felt warmer than the Cybertruck’s.
At this point, he has a mystery on his hands; however, to be able to say which vehicle is hotter, he needed to use proper instrumentation.
To answer this question definitively, Stuck4ger went home and returned with an infrared temperature sensor. The results he found were surprising.
When he put the infrared temperature on the part of the Cybertruck perpendicular to the sun, he found the temperature was a toasty 106 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, to his dismay, when he put the sensor onto the black Model S parked next to the Cybertruck, the temperature reading showed 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Based on this experiment, the black paint on the Model S gets 37% hotter than the Cybertruck’s stainless steel surface.
Stuck4ger says that to keep the tests fair, he tried to find an area on both vehicles perpendicular to the sun.
Following, Stuck4ger took his temperature gun and pointed it at a Tesla with midnight silver metallic paint and a Tesla with white paint.
As expected, the white Tesla had a lower temperature reading at 107 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas the midnight silver metallic clocked in at 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
What’s interesting here is that, as expected, the white Tesla had a lower temperature reading than a Tesla of any other color. However, the white Tesla still recorded higher temperatures during this test than the Cybertruck.
The Cybertruck’s surface temperature was 106 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas the white Tesla’s was 107 degrees Fahrenheit.
These results might be surprising at the surface; simply looking at a Cybertruck, it’s easy to see that it is much more shiny and reflective than other vehicles on the road. Our intuition, born out of previous experiences, also tells us that metals can hold more heat than other materials.
However, the fact that the Cybertruck is very reflective should also mean that the surface will be less warm. If the Cybertruck reflects most of the sun’s rays, then there is less to warm up the truck.
This is well and good; however, it also raises a reasonable next question regarding the interior temperatures of these vehicles.
The Cybertruck’s windshield is the largest single piece of automotive glass installed on any vehicle. This means the Cybertruck has more surface area to let in the sun than other vehicles.
Unfortunately, since he did not own the Cybertruck in question, Stuck4ger could not test out and compare the interior temperatures of the various Teslas.
However, for those concerned, Tesla has fitted a much beefier A/C compressor on the Cybertruck compared to other Teslas, so even if the larger greenhouse in the Cybertruck causes more interior heat, Tesla has designed the vehicle to be able to dispense this heat properly.
So what’s the verdict? At least when it comes to the exterior, not only does the Cybertruck’s stainless steel not get dangerously hot in the sun, but surprisingly, the Cybertruck’s stainless steel surface has the lowest temperature compared to any other Tesla.
Having said that, individuals have raised questions regarding the applicability of using an infrared temperature sensor for this experiment and whether the results would be different if measured using conductive temperature sensors.
This is in addition to the already remaining question regarding the interior temperature comparisons. As of now, we can’t definitively answer these questions; however, we’ll be sure to keep you posted as we learn more about the situation.
Until then, visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.
So, what do you think? Were you surprised to learn not only did the Cybertruck’s stainless steel surface not get dangerously hot but that the vehicle actually has the coolest surface of any Tesla? Also, do you have any doubts when it comes to the validity of the experiment? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below by clicking the red “Add New Comment” button.
Image: Screenshot from Top Gear YouTube channel
For more information, check out: Here is How the Cybertruck Stacks Up Against a Purpose-Built Armored Vehicle – Tesla Cybertruck Vs. The Rezvani Vengeance
Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.
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