Tesla Confirms the Cyber Cab will Feature Plastic Body Panels & Will Not Require Painting. Instead, the Color Will be Injected While Molding the Polyurethane Panels – “No More Orange Peel or Paint Bleed”

Tesla’s VP of engineering, Lars Moravy, has confirmed long-held rumors that the Cyber Cab’s body panels will be made of plastic and will not require a coat of paint.

Lars shared this information in a new conversation with Ryan McCaffrey, host of “Ride the Lightning: The Unofficial Tesla Podcast.”

Lars’s technical explanation regarding the plastic Cyber Cab panels and other specifics was prompted by Ryan, who asked Tesla’s chief engineer why the EV maker chose not to build the Cyber Cab from stainless steel, similar to the Cybertruck.

Ryan specifically highlighted some of the advantages Tesla touted about the "Hard Freaking Stainless Steel” (HFS) alloy that the EV maker developed in-house specifically for the Cybertruck.

Ryan also pointed out that the Cybertruck's stainless steel, with its unpainted surface, eliminates the need for a $500 million paint shop and offers numerous environmental advantages.

However, Lars says that since the main requirement for the Cyber Cab was efficiency, some characteristics of the hard stainless steel did not suit the small vehicle.

That said, Lars mentions that even though Tesla chose a plastic surface instead of stainless steel for the Cyber Cab, the body panels for the Tesla robotaxi will still not require any paint.

Lars adds that the Cyber Cab will feature polyurethane (plastic) body panels, and the paint will not be applied on top but baked in as the plastic is molded into the panels.

The Tesla engineering VP elaborated on this decision, beginning with the reasons Tesla opted not to use a stainless steel body panel for the Cyber Cab and then detailing how plastic can still capture some of the advantages of stainless steel panels.

Here is what he said…

“Yeah, I think what you have to remember about Hard Freaking Stainless Steel (HFS) is that it's really tough to form and bend.

Aside from stainless steel, we might consider using stainless in the future. But, you know, the hard freaking stainless, it's only going to have that Cybertruck shape.

We can’t put curves into hard steel, and when you consider the aerodynamic requirements of something as efficient as the Cyber Cab, it didn't marry.

Having said that, that doesn't mean the Cyber Cab is painted.”

Up to now, all the Cyber Cabs we’ve seen have been this golden-yellowish color, but Lars is now saying they aren’t painted.

This piqued Ryan’s interest, who proceeded to say…

“Okay, hold on, well, hold on. The Cyber Cab is a gold color. According to Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s chief designer, that's an homage to New York City cabs. However, if it's not paint what is it?

In response, Lars says…

“Well, I mean, we are developing a new process that has been in various industries for a while where you inject actually the polyurethane paint at the same time that you make the plastic panels, so there's no paint shop needed for that vehicle either.

We just put the color in when we make the panels, and that's it.”

Lars then continues to point out some of the advantages of incorporating color this way, saying… 

“No orange peel, no paint bleed, but then if you want to repair it because you get a scratch or whatever, it's basically paint.”

This prompted Ryan to ask…

“So, can I order my Cyber Cab in a variety of colors?”

In response, Lars says…

“Well, currently, we only plan on the one color, but yeah, I guess in theory, we could inject whatever color you wanted.”

Finally, Lars wraps up his comments on the Cyber Cab by stating that although the robotaxi won’t be made of stainless steel like the Cybertruck, Tesla has still managed to eliminate the paint shop for the upcoming vehicle.

Lars says…

“Anyways, we took the idea of deleting the paint shop from the Cybertruck and carried it forward. you know, so we only really coat things that need corrosion protection at this point.”

Overall, this is definitely interesting, and it appears that Tesla will be trying out several new materials and processes with the Cyber Cab. Please let me know what you think in the comments.

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Image: courtesy of Tesla, Inc.

For more information, check out: A Tesla Cybertruck Owner Says He Backed Onto an Old Lady in a Parking Lot. Adds, “My Cybertruck had a Minor Scratch, but I Did a Number on Her Door”

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.