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Comment by polynomial | Hacker News Reader

Sincere question, why in the world is it made of out of steel?

If you scratch it, no problem, it's steel all the way down. Most other cars seem to require a paint job in order to protect the car from the elements, which means if you scratch and don't repair you'll get rust. I would assume this will be less of an issue with stainless steel.

It's strong enough that you can hypothetically use the body for all your structural needs, and therefore don't need any sort of chassis. An extension/continuation of what Tesla has been doing with their "structural battery packs".

It won't dent as easily.

You can drive and park like an asshole and worry less about being keyed.

It looks cool.

> If you scratch it, no problem, it's steel all the way down.

But, and it's a big but, it's not stainless steel all the way down. Scratched stainless steel can still rust once you've removed the chromium oxide protective layer. The protective layer can re-form as you remove the iron from the mix, but not over rust.

A WSJ article I read suggested, though they admitted it was only rumor, that Musk initially wanted the car to be bullet proof.

I suspect in the end, since they're not advertising this "feature", the Cybertruck is likely more-resistant-than-average to bullets, but nothing that could be legally advertised.

edit: Not a rumor after all, Musk specifically mentions in this clip: https://youtu.be/25ZuKkbHdqM?t=167

They have planned for bullet proof glass, but have abandoned it for now.

They have talked about it on the keynote.

"Bullet proof" glass would likely add a ton of additional weight and cost and be impractical with how thick it would have to be to be described as bullet proof. I also think you would likely have to re-engineering the power windows mechanic.

The body panels are evidently actually bulletproof https://electrek.co/2023/10/20/tesla-shot-tommy-gun-cybertru...

"The stunt by Tesla by shooting a .45 caliber bullet at the cyberpunk doesn’t prove it’s bullet proof.

A 45 is a low-velocity round with a very large blunt nose.

If they shot it up with an ak47 round or a 5.56 out of a AR15, they would have made Swiss cheese out of that door panel.

There are many high-velocity pistol rounds that would do this also. One is a 5.7mm or a .22 magnum."

from that same article

That's a pretty odd rumor- for one thing, stainless steel isn't used in any bullet shields or vests that I'm aware of. Kevlar, ceramic plates and layered "glass" are the go-to materials. If he wanted bullet proof, it'd be easy to line the door panels with something rated for any pistol rounds.

When metal is used, it is typically in a thick plate. Even thinner plate used for small round target practice is usually painted- stainless would be an odd choice even at the right thickness.

Turns out it's not a rumor, when Musk did a drive with Jay Leno in 2021 he specifically mentions the stainless steel at being used to make the doors bullet proof [0].

0. https://youtu.be/25ZuKkbHdqM?t=167

No, he mentioned that the stainless steel happened to be bullet proof, which is badass and cool.

That's not the same thing as specifically choosing stainless steel to make it bullet proof. He's using bullet proof to help sell the stainless steel, not the other way around.

It's a tiny distinction, but an important one IMHO.

Doesn't Musk saying it make it a rumor?

The windows aren't bullet proof. I wouldn't be surprised if the non-window parts are in fact bullet proof, but bullet proof windows look a lot different (and worse) than what the Cybertruck has.

I can't find an article on it but I swear he mentioned way back before it was officially released that his plan was for it to be used as the mode of transportation when SpaceX sends humans to Mars. Ergo the bulletproof body and windows, and since Teslas already have that bioweapon defense mode, he's probably aiming to make it pressurizable as well.

If its planned for use for humans on Mars, pressurizable is probably more valuable than bulletproof.

Unless one anticipates a lot of conflict in the colony...

Memories fading with time of what a disaster the Delorean was, perhaps?

The intent was to transfer the load to an exterior, rigid structure. Rust is also a significant concern is some climates for non-stainless steel.

Alluded to in the article, but Starship is made from the same quality of steel, so perhaps it’s a price break on a higher order quantity?

DMC DeLorean had stainless steel body panels. Guess they wanted to imitate that look.

There was some talk from Elon at the time about how much it cost to paint cars.

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