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The Cybertruck is Tesla’s most daring vehicle design to date. The futuristic truck, unlike most vehicles, has an exoskeleton body and will be made out of 90% recycled stainless steel.
Despite the already groundbreaking design of the Cybertruck shown off at the unveiling event back in 2019, the vehicle in the meantime has still seen several notable design changes.
The redesigned Cybertruck has several changes including rear-wheel steering, handless doors, an opening from the bed to the rear seats, and many smaller changes.
Musk has also confirmed there will be a new quad-motor Cybertruck variant. Even though Elon hasn’t shared details of the new truck, insider leaks have suggested it will have 0 to 60 mph time of under 2 seconds.
Related News: Elon Musk Talks About Pre-Production Cybertruck Units at Engineering Headquarters in Palo Alto, CA
Recently we also got a sneak peek at the new interior of the redesigned Cybertruck. This new interior has some notable changes such as the white rectangular marble-looking dashboard of the Cybertruck prototype is now replaced with a more traditional triangular shape and black material resembling the dashboard of the refreshed Model S & X.
And like the new Model S & X, the redesigned Cybertruck interior now also comes with a second screen behind the steering wheel. And other changes we were able to notice include an attachment for side view screens, a less angular seat design, and a new center console.
And if all these changes weren’t enough, recently Elon Musk has teased us with a picture of a Cybertruck design with 6 wheels and a much wider body.
Every design improvement has made the Cybertruck an even more compelling vehicle than it already is however, according to the third part of Elon Musk’s interview with Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, the Tesla CEO says they have finalized the design of the Cybertruck.
And since then, thanks to a video of a new Cybertruck prototype that surfaced online, we were able to see all the final changes Tesla has made to the futuristic truck before the start of production.
Tesla makes the absolute coolest toy for adults. Who else loves the cybertruck? $TSLA pic.twitter.com/cPcggvMktA— S3XY ASTRO (@AstroS3xy) October 22, 2022
In the above video, we can see Tesla has made changes to the Cybertruck’s taillights. When the vehicle parks, a new pattern of brake lights can be seen which wasn’t present in previous Cybertruck prototype spottings.
On the new prototype, we can see Tesla has broken up the taillight into sections as opposed to previous prototypes where it used to be one continuous bar across the tailgate. Now, the part of the taillight which is mounted on the rear body has twice the length of that of the taillight which is on the tailgate.
And the black bar that surrounds the taillight is now much larger and matches the increased size of the taillight which is mounted on the rear body.
Another change we can see is the addition of two reverse lights on each side of the futuristic truck’s license plate. We can also see the addition of two reflectors at the bottom of the tailgate.
However, when we thought we have seen all the changes Tesla has made to the futuristic truck, last week, we received yet another image of a new Cybertruck prototype.
The image was taken near Tesla’s design studio in Palo Alto, California. And follows Elon Musk’s Twitter announcement that he “was just reviewing the production beta Cybertruck,” and that “it is incredible.”
I was just reviewing the production beta Cybertruck. It is incredible.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 1, 2023
Unfortunately, we only got a single grainy picture, however, we can still make out additional changes Tesla has made to the final design of the Cybertruck.
Cybertruck spotted in Palo Alto yesterday! Photo from Instagram: https://t.co/dfVYPpmkKY https://t.co/WXNPbjS7l8 pic.twitter.com/qdA0zBFbjr— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) February 2, 2023
The most notable of these changes is the design of the side view mirrors. The large rectangular side view mirror of prior prototypes is now replaced by a much smaller and triangular side view mirror design.
Tesla presumably made this change in order to improve the overall aerodynamics of the vehicle. However, if you are not a fan of the new side-view mirror design, you shouldn’t worry as Elon Musk has confirmed that the side-view mirrors are removable and that the Cybertruck will instead come equipped with screens in the interior that will serve as side-view mirrors.
Another change we can see is that Tesla has added a large rear bumper diffuser. That is the black plastic-looking bump you can see underneath the rear of the vehicle. Tesla presumably also added this piece to improve the aerodynamics of the truck.
Although not the most aesthetically pleasing choice, in my opinion, this is still an improvement as long as it doesn’t meaningfully affect the vehicle’s clearance.
This is all well and good, however, all the updates we have got so far are either about the truck’s features or performance, but, thanks to a new Tesla patent for an ultra-hard stainless steel alloy, we now have more detail of what the Cybertruck will actually be made of.
The Cybertruck’s design is unlike any truck before it. Rather than the body-on-frame design of all trucks, the Cybertruck has an exoskeleton meaning the entire body makes part of the chassis. This allows Tesla to increase the vehicle’s stiffness while at the same time reducing the weight.
And Tesla has chosen to construct the exoskeleton from cold-rolled stainless steel. Cold-rolled steel differs from conventional steel in that instead of heating the steel to make it more malleable, cold-rolled steel is rolled at room temperature.
This allows to produce thin flat sheets of stainless steel. The rollers also reduce the grain size of the metal, making it stronger and giving it a smooth surface. Tesla in conjunction with Elon Musk’s space venture, SpaceX, has come up with a new stainless steel alloy (300X) to build the Cybertruck.
Up to now, we didn’t have a lot of information regarding the new 300X stainless. However, in the new patent application first spotted by electrek, we get our first details regarding Cybertruck’s stainless steel exoskeleton.
In the patent application, Tesla writes…
In some embodiments, at least one exterior panel and/or body of the vehicle comprises the steel alloy. In some embodiments, the vehicle architecture is designed such that the exterior panels of the vehicle also contribute to the vehicle’s structural performance, wherein such exterior paneling of a vehicle may be referred to as an “exoskeleton.” In some embodiments, the exterior panel is or is formed from a monolithic metal sheet of the steel alloy. In some embodiments, the corrosion resistance of the monolithic metal sheet allows for the exterior panel of the vehicle to be utilized without application of an anticorrosion coating or corrosion protective agent (e.g. paint). In some embodiments, an exterior surface of the exterior panel does not comprise paint.
Continuing Tesla adds more detail about the physical properties of the stainless steel alloy writing…
In one aspect, a steel alloy composition is described. The composition includes Fe, a hardness is at least about 400 HV, and an Epit-Eocp corrosion resistance of at least about 500 mV in a 3 wt% sodium chloride aqueous solution.
In some embodiments, the hardness is about 420 HV to about 500 HV. In some embodiments, the Epit-Eocp corrosion resistance is about 520 mV to about 800 mV. In some embodiments, the Epit-Eocp corrosion resistance is about 520 mV to about 600 mV. In some embodiments, the composition has a yield strength of at least about 1100 MPa. In some embodiments, the composition has a ductility of at least about 60° bend angle at 1.8mm thickness. In some embodiments, martensite formation begins at about 260 K to about 340 K. In some embodiments, martensite formation begins at about 260 K to about 320 K. In some embodiments, the composition has at least about 12 vol% martensite. In some embodiments, the composition has a yield strength of at least about 1100 MPa.
This is a lot of technical information regarding the new alloy, however, according to Tesla the main takeaway is that the Cybertruck’s stainless steel alloy outperforms other stainless steel alloys.
Currently, this is all the information we have regarding the Cybertruck, however, we will be sure to keep you posted if we receive further information regarding the futuristic truck.
Until then, make sure to visit our site torquenews.com/Tesla regularly for the latest updates.
Image: Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.
So what do you think? Are you excited to learn the details about the Cybertruck’s stainless steel alloy? Also, what do you think of all the other improvements? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
For more information check out: Tesla Cybertruck - Higher Ground Clearance And Adaptive Suspension System
Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis 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
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